


Pity the night the stars lose their shine

by Melise



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Ending, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Gen, Heavy Angst, No one knows what's up with Obito, Not the True Ending, Obito blames himself for everything, Obito is NOT Okay, Obito is brought back down to normal and would like to keep it that way, Obito tries to fix an AU Bad Ending he created, Reformed Obito ships his teammates together, Technically a standalone, Time Travel, Trying to atone for your mistakes, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-23
Updated: 2021-01-25
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 31,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23273197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Melise/pseuds/Melise
Summary: All alone in the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Obito realizes the error of his ways much too late.As his present world is far beyond saving, Obito frantically latches onto an idea that might be absurd and improbable enough to actually work. He’s going back to before it all went wrong.Still, changing the world after you’ve already destroyed it once is no simple feat. Not when the memories of his previous missteps lurk around every corner, waiting to strike when he least expects it.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Nohara Rin
Comments: 226
Kudos: 327





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, so I have decided to tackle the classic Time Travel fic. This is all thanks to a comment that writingforFUNandbecauseBoredom left on the last chapter of “Moving parts come undone.” It sparked an idea that’s been in my head quite literally for months, so here we are. 
> 
> This is meant to be a standalone story. However, you would certainly get a lot of context from reading Part 1 and 2 of Sleepless night as this is also intended to be an alternate ending to “Moving parts come undone.”
> 
> Story title taken from lines of the poem “Pity the Beautiful” by Dana Gioia.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obito comes to a realization far too late.

_This is truly Hell, and it’s one of his own making._

It’s been a long time since Obito first cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi now. It’s been almost as long since he last entered the genjutsu himself. Days, months, years, or even decades might’ve gone by. It’s difficult to measure the passing of time now. Either way, he couldn’t bear to see those visions anymore, not when the voice in the back of his head seems determined to remind him that they aren’t real.

It seems after all that, after robbing every single person in the world of their life, freedom, and future, all Obito can do is idle listlessly on the ruined earth like some kind of pathetic scavenger. He’s trapped with his thoughts for company in this wasteland of a world, and Obito would prefer to be anywhere else right now.

But despite Obito’s efforts to not think, contemplate, or even exist, insidious thoughts and ideas continue to burrow themselves into his mind. It’s mostly his old memories that haunt him now: Rin’s and Kakashi’s bodies lying on the cold stone, Minato-sensei’s face crumpled in grief, and Konoha disintegrating into pieces. Those are only a few of the usual suspects.

And yet Obito’s mind has been revisiting a different memory as of late, an incident that had occurred quite some time ago. He doesn’t understand why his brain is so determined for him to revisit this moment. It should be an insignificant one, a mundane event that shouldn't even be worth committing to memory.

Not long after Obito had begun to assume Madara’s identity, a Kumo nin had gotten a lucky shot on him. Now he had cleaved off his opponent’s head all the same, but not before a lightning-wreathed sword impaled Obito directly through the heart. He had lost consciousness for a brief moment, but his body had healed itself within a matter of seconds.

As rare as such circumstances were, it wasn’t as if Obito had never sustained serious injury before. He had been on the receiving end of quite a few during the period of time in which he was testing the limits of his Mangekyō. Obito had experienced far greater wounds than the one that nameless Kumo nin gave him, and they had all healed the same, the damage repairing itself almost instantaneously.

It’s a day that should’ve been just one of many, yet this excessive rumination suggests it’s anything but that. If nothing of significance had occurred, then the recollection of this event shouldn’t be bringing him this much unease.

Had that day been more pivotal than it initially appeared? Was it because on that day, something had changed after the wound in his chest healed? Was it because Obito had felt that he actually possessed the ability to _choose?_

And once he allows himself to consider the possibility that he’s denied for so long, the pieces start to come together. As there aren’t many scenarios that could explain what Obito had experienced, it only takes him a short while to formulate a possible series of events.

Because Obito had always thought that Madara Uchiha was egregiously foolish for placing such an extraordinary amount of trust in him. For an ultimate plan that he had dedicated his entire existence towards, Madara had placed the onus of fulfilling it onto Obito.

Even after repairing the extensive damage to Obito’s body, there was no guarantee that he would have felt any sort of obligation to the former clan head. Obito could’ve always chosen to turn his back on it all after Madara’s death. While the disgraced Uchiha leader did leave Zetsu behind to guide and monitor him, the entity had eventually proved to be no match for Obito in the end.

Would Madara have truly left something like that up to chance?

No, he wouldn’t have.

Madara Uchiha is certainly the kind of man who would find use for seals that would instill loyalty and obedience in others. And Obito highly doubts Madara saved him out of the goodness of his heart.

The ancient shinobi had almost certainly placed a control seal on him. But it hardly made any difference in the end, as much as Obito hates to admit it. There was no need for a mind-altering seal when he himself was so utterly committed to the Eye of the Moon Plan. Obito had _believed_ in the plan. That was all him.

The seal, if it had existed, should have broken when that Kumo nin all but obliterated his heart. If that were the case, then only his sense of loyalty to the ancient Uchiha was impacted by its absence. After all, Obito had neglected to revive Madara before casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi. But his fervor for the Infinite Tsukuyomi? That had remained undiminished.

There’s no escaping that Obito still chose to do this, whether or not his will was ever influenced in any way. He still brought about the destruction of the world.

As the caster of the Infinite Tsukuyomi, Obito wants to believe that he can reverse it and put an end to it all. But something tells him that it wouldn’t work that way. A part of him knows that an act of this magnitude cannot be undone.

It’s far too late now. It’s far too late for anything at all.

Obito can feel himself sink further and further into the fog of misery that clings to him like a second skin. But it's at this moment that an idea strikes him. Maybe, just maybe, he can go to where it _isn’t_ too late.

After all, Kamui is a technique that manipulates both time and space. Obito has generally concentrated on the jutsu’s space altering abilities, traveling between numerous dimensions in a blink of the eye. In all this time, he's never given much thought to how he might be manipulating time with each use of his Mangekyō.

Perhaps he can rewind back to before any of this ever happened. Perhaps he can find a dimension where none of this has occurred. If he were to fuel Kamui with all of the Rinnegan’s immense strength, it might just work.

Part of Obito doesn’t believe that this will even be successful. After all, nothing he’s done has turned out for the better. He’s poured every fiber of his being into his goals, only to hurt everyone in the end.

The strain of it could be enough to destroy him completely, but that’s a possibility that Obito would actually welcome.

After all, anything would be better than this miserable existence.

So he takes a deep breath and activates his Mangekyō, imbuing it with the overwhelming power of the Rinnegan.

For one blissful moment, Obito is engulfed by nothingness.

And then he’s torn back to the present, back to the reality that he was trying to escape. Obito stares down at his hands in dismay, the weight of his failure threatening to smother him.

There’s nothing he can do.

_Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing…_

His expectations were close to nonexistent, yet the feeling of disappointment still threatens to crush him.

_Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing…_

And that’s when it happens.

It’s almost as if the entire world closes in on him.

The sensation is equal parts indescribable and unbearable. It's like he’s been seized by a giant hand determined to compress him down to the size of a pebble. Obito feels like an insect that has been smashed to bits, its dismembered parts scattering pitifully in the wind. It's as if every molecule of his being is slowly splitting away from each other before burning into ash. The feeling is like all of these and a million more.

_Is this actually Hell?_

Is this Obito’s punishment for his crimes, his arrogance, and his selfishness? He certainly deserves it if that’s the case. He deserves nothing less than being locked in unending agony for the remainder of time itself. In fact, living an eternal nightmare would be a fitting sentence for the monster who ensnared all of humanity into a false dream.

Maybe that’s what this is.

But just when Obito begins to think that this might last forever, it stops.

And for the first time in ages, Obito stares out at the world with his own two eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He’s managed to go back, but none of this will be easy.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the past, Obito struggles on deciding what to do.

Obito freezes, not even daring to move. He’s afraid that the illusion around him will break if he does anything.

But every piece of surrounding evidence indicates that his plan has indeed worked.

Obito is lying on a bed that he hasn’t seen in years while staring at the ceiling of a house that had long been razed to the ground. His left eye, the original one, is back in his skull as well. In the world he had left behind, that eye had been buried with Kakashi after his death.

And if he needed any further proof, Obito’s right arm and right side of his torso are whole and here with him again.

He slowly sits up in his bed and can’t help but feel awe at how the rays of sunlight filter through his bedroom window. It’s gentle and glowing, completely unlike the harsh, piercing light of the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

Looking down at his unmarked skin, Obito makes a fist with his right hand and watches how the skin, flesh, and muscles work in tandem. Not only has he successfully rewound time, it appears that he’s also occupying the body of his younger self.

But as for how old Obito is right now, he can’t quite tell. He’s younger than thirteen at the very least and definitely older than five given his size, but there’s little to indicate exactly what time he might’ve arrived at.

Seeing his own face might give him a better idea.

Obito gets out of bed, stepping tentatively onto the wooden floor with his bare feet. He moves about the room in search of a mirror, all the while processing just how scrawny and uncoordinated this body is. Obito spies a telltale glint from his dresser and begins to make his way over. However, a worrying thought brings him to a sudden halt.

His Sharingan.

Obito didn’t have the Sharingan at this age; he didn’t unlock them until that fateful mission at Kannabi Bridge. But he could have it now, Obito realizes. The dōjutsu is first triggered by intense emotion, and he still has every single awful memory from his previous world. Maybe this means his Sharingan have already been awakened.

And yet, a part of him doesn’t want to find out, a part of him never wants to bear those scarlet eyes over again. In a world like this one, the ability to forget is a blessing.

Obito slowly approaches the small mirror lying atop his dresser, fearful of what he might see. But before he can do anything else, a voice shocks him out of his reverie.

“Obito! Are you awake yet?”

It’s his grandmother, he realizes with a pang of guilt. He grips the edge of the dresser with both hands, panting as he tries to force his heart rate back under control. It has to have been at least decades since he last thought of her. Obito never bothered to find out what happened to her after the mission to Kannabi Bridge.

Although now that he thinks about it, it’s likely that she died of old age around the end of the war. That would make her one of the few people in the world that Obito hasn’t wronged. Yet the crushing feeling of guilt still threatens to paralyze him.

If he’s like this just hearing his grandmother’s voice, how can he face Rin, Kakashi, or Minato-sensei?

Obito comes back to his senses, remembering that he still needs to respond.

“Yes, I’m almost ready!” he calls back, hoping that he hadn’t left his grandmother waiting for too long. “I’ll be out in a few minutes.”

He flinches slightly at hearing the sound of his own voice. Did it really used to be so high pitched?

“Alright then,” Obito hears her chuckle from the other side of the closed door. “But don’t take too long. You’ve got a busy day ahead of you.”

Obito shakes his head as if trying to clear his thoughts. He needs to get back to the matter at hand. So with a deep breath, Obito holds up the mirror to take to look at himself.

His face is smooth and unscarred, the same as his torso and arm. Obito studies the angles and planes of his unlined face intently. He looks the same as any other child now aside from the broken look in eyes. It’s a little difficult to discern his age, but he could be anywhere from nine to twelve years old.

He’s done, he’s actually done it. Now that Obito’s back, he can…he can…

_What exactly is he going to do?_

Obito’s only goal was to turn time back, and it was wasn’t even an objective that he believed he could achieve. He just wanted to undo all of the horrors that he unleashed upon the world. And now that he’s done it, there’s no need for Obito to be here anymore.

He could simply end his life here. A kunai through the heart should do the trick, and he could finally _sleep_. One swift stab and that would be the end of Obito Uchiha.

It’s tempting, so tempting.

He can’t do it though, even though it would mean that Obito could rest knowing that he would never hurt anybody again. A part of him knows that he doesn’t deserve to get out of this that easily. There are other threats out there that only Obito has knowledge of like Madara, Zetsu, and all the missing nin that would make up the Akatsuki. And there’s another part of him wants to believe that maybe, just maybe, he can make things right.

Although if he’s going to stick around, he does need to know if he still has his Sharingan or not. Obito stares into the mirror one more time and tries to activate his kekkei genkai. But nothing happens. He tries again, only for his irises to remain black. It seems that he would need to unlock them again in this body. That is if he truly wants his Sharingan back.

Although that’s a matter for another time.

Obito dresses swiftly, donning the blue clothes that are so familiar yet foreign at the same time. He retrieves his forehead protector, it’s presence informing him that he’s already become a shinobi here. After a moment or two of deliberation, he takes the orange goggles with him as well. Obito honestly doesn’t see the point of these things, but he does have a charade to keep up.

He walks out of his room into the kitchen, his grandmother looking up as he enters. Obito struggles to ignore the lump in his throat that’s suddenly appeared at the sight of her. She looks the same as he remembered.

She regards him curiously, but not with as much shock as Obito would’ve predicted. Perhaps it’s because he’s grown quite adept at hiding his true feelings after all those years he’s spent pretending to be someone else.

However, there’s no way his grandmother can miss the aura of anxiety that’s hovering over him like a stormcloud.

“Are you feeling alright? Is something wrong?” Her face creases into concern as she studies his face carefully.

“I’m fine, really,” Obito answers, internally wincing at the sound of his own voice.

“I didn’t think you would be that nervous about meeting your teammates and sensei for the first time,” she frowns. She wipes her hands on a kitchen towel before placing her palm on the side of his face. “Do you think you might be getting sick?”

_Oh no, oh no._

It had to be today. Of course it had to be today.

There truly is to be no reprieve for him. Obito hoped that he would be granted the mercy of a grace period in which he could calm and collect himself first. But instead, he’s been thrown back to the day that Team Minato was formed, a day that had never failed to haunt Obito back in the timeline he left.

He can barely hear himself answer his grandmother over the sound of the blood rushing in his ears. Nevertheless, Obito’s response seems to be one that appeases her as she waves him off with an order to take it easy.

Obito nods mechanically before stepping outside, the lovely weather at complete odds with the feeling of dread churning inside of him. He’s made his decision, Obito tells himself as he walks in the direction of the training grounds. He has to put things right.

Still, every molecule in his body is begging him to stop and run as far away as possible.

_He can’t do this, he can’t do this._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obito’s troubles are only beginning…


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team Minato meets for both the first time and the first time in a long time.

Obito only makes it a few more feet before his legs start to fail him. His head spinning, he sinks to the ground against the trunk of a tree conveniently located along the path.

_This is impossible._

There’s no way he can do this and pretend to be a wide-eyed, earnest nine-year-old like he hadn’t just spent the past decades awash in hatred and misery. He can’t go through this again as if he isn’t aware of how terribly wrong it can all go.

Huddled under the tree, Obito pants for breath as he attempts to bring his racing thoughts back under control. He’s not sure how long he remains there, staring down at his shaking hands as he resists the urge to put as much distance between himself and Konoha as possible.

What frightens Obito is that he assumed he was doing the world a favor by casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi. For years, he genuinely believed that enslaving everybody in an empty dream was the answer. Now the responsibility of setting things right has fallen on him. But how can he trust his judgment now?

He’s eventually broken out of his miserable stupor by a morose but somewhat encouraging thought, that is the notion that he’s unlikely to do much worse this time.

It’s far from a hopeful idea, and Obito still feels on the verge of a breakdown. Still, it alleviates some of his uneasiness nonetheless. And as much as the prospect of impersonating his younger self fills him with dread. Obito will just have to bear down and take this day by day. He owes that much to everyone at the very least.

Now that most of his panic has abated, Obito scans the vicinity to see if any passersby have taken note of episode. Thankfully, he finds that no one is looking at him oddly. But just on the other side of the path, he sees an elderly woman with her arms full of groceries struggling to unlock the front door of her home.

Obito is moving before his mind has even registered what’s going on. He carefully takes the bags of food from her so that her hands are free to find the correct key. She thanks him profusely as he carefully sets the bags down by the entrance. Once inside, she gives him a warm smile and pats him on the head before shutting the door behind her.

With a curious but not necessarily unpleasant feeling in his stomach, Obito continues his way back down the path. Maybe not every part of this will be as arduous as he had envisioned.

Maybe there is some of the old Obito left after all. Maybe there’s enough of him to be able to truly fix things.

Obito finally arrives at the training ground, laying eyes on the three people who never failed to pervade his waking moments in the world he so recently left. It almost hurts to look at them. Even with the evidence right before him, it’s difficult to reconcile the present images of them with the ones in his memories.

_Were Rin and Kakashi really that small? Was there really a time in which Minato-sensei was so lighthearted and hopeful?_

“You’re late,” Kakashi remarks accusatorily with a scowl in his eyes.

He’d forgotten just how surly Kakashi was.

For so long, Obito believed that Kakashi’s cold and distant demeanor was rooted in the belief that he was better than them all. He hadn’t known that the prodigy’s attitude was the result of all the pain and resentment he suffered following his father’s death. Obito just hopes in that broken future, Kakashi was at least able to make peace with him afterward.

“I’m sorry, I was…” Obito’s voice trails off.

He was going to say that he was helping an old woman with her groceries, but something made him decide against it. Even though it’s the truth as it had been all those times before, it really does sound like a made-up excuse now that he really thinks about it. No wonder Kakashi had always been so irritated with him.

“I wasn’t paying attention to the time. I’m sorry,” Obito finally answers.

Kakashi looks slightly surprised, not having expected that response. Likewise, Rin also regards him with a look of concern.

Before, Obito would have basked in any kind of attention she showed him. He had loved her for years, but he doesn’t believe he can think of Rin that way anymore. Not when Obito knows that she deserves better than the monster who took it upon himself to destroy the entire world.

Minato-sensei, who has never met Obito before now, is the only one who is not perplexed by his demeanor.

“You must be Obito,” he greets him with a friendly smile. “We’ve already introduced ourselves, so you’re the only one left.”

“I’m Obito Uchiha,” he starts, but he finds himself at a loss for words.

He had wanted to be Hokage, hadn’t he? He vaguely remembers going on about how he would become a fearsome leader who protected the village. Obito almost wants to laugh about that now. He’s proven time and time again that he is not to be trusted with power.

“I… I just want to be a good shinobi,” he finally utters after nothing else comes to mind.

Rin and Kakashi both look extremely confused now.

“Well, that’s certainly a worthwhile goal,” Minato-sensei responds, looking slightly thoughtful now. “In fact, that’s a hope that I have for the three of you already.”

“But now, it’s time for our first practice session…” Sensei announces before diving into the explanation of the bell test.

Obito tries to recall what he did before as the other two ready themselves. He wants to act as similarly as possible here, seeing as Rin and Kakashi have already noticed a difference. Either way, he has little confidence that his performance this time around will be markedly better than the first.

He’s undeniably clumsy and ineffective in this body. Obito always took longer than most to learn things anyway. He wasn’t like Kakashi who could learn and master every skill and technique in an instant. It wasn’t until after the cave-in that Obito started to truly gain in power.

It’s something that Obito has pondered over years later, how exactly he went from a somewhat competent chūnin to a shinobi capable of overthrowing nations. His guess was that the implants combined with his manic determination were the key. Maybe trial by fire had also helped in unlocking his potential.

Regardless, the bell test plays out almost exactly as Obito remembered. He and Rin had made numerous unsuccessful passes at the little silver bells, charging at Minato-sensei in turn before Kakashi suggested working together. With Obito and Rin circling Sensei, Kakashi had leaped in to the snatch the bells hanging from his belt.

After congratulating them all, Minato-sensei explains the true purpose of the bell test and compliments the three for their initiative. He doesn’t keep them for long after that, dismissing them with a goodbye and a reminder of the time of their next meeting.

While they pack up their belongings, Obito can feel the weight of Kakashi’s stare on him. However, he does seem to be regarding Obito with less harshness than before. He could be imagining it, but Obito thinks it might be because Kakashi recognizes that there are demons haunting him as well. It would explain much of the hostility that he displayed towards Obito before. To Kakashi, the past Obito must have represented the sense of hope and naivety that was ripped away upon his father’s suicide.

As the other three begin to depart, Rin bidding him farewell with a smile, Obito can scarcely believe that he’s actually made it through this. He’s managed to navigate their first official meeting without completely falling to pieces. However, this success still brings with it doubt, and he shoots furtive glances at the others, wondering if it’s truly possible to save them all this time.

But as he sees Sensei head down the path, Obito remembers that he wasn't the only one who was haunted by this day.

After Kakashi and Rin died in Kiri, Minato-sensei was the one who brought them back home to Konoha. And after the two were buried, he soon became a regular visitor at the Memorial Stone. On the occasions that Obito would sneak into Konoha to spy on the inner workings of the village, he would often find Sensei standing silently before the monument with his eyes fixated on the names of his lost students.

Eventually, Minato-sensei began to spend less and less time in front of the stone. But there were always two days that he would be present: the day that Rin and Kakashi died and the day that Team Minato was assembled. Up until Konoha itself had crumbled into the earth, Sensei had done this without fail.

Obito turns to watch the jōnin’s retreating back.

Maybe this time, he can make sure that this day never troubles Minato-sensei again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is going to no shortage of people who are confused about Obito’s behavior.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obito adjusts to this new reality.

Normality feels… odd after all this time.

Considering all the turmoil that has inundated Obito’s life, he never would’ve imagined that something as simple as a daily routine could feel so foreign to him. Then again, it’s been quite a while since he’s had to deal with the mundane.

Gone are his days of skulking around as an international criminal. Now Obito lives in a proper house where he is looked after by his grandmother, his grandmother who cooks for him, cleans for him, and sends him out the door with a packed lunch and a smile.

Obito doesn’t know what to think about this, about the unconditional care and attention that’s being directed at him. He doesn’t know how to react to the concerned looks his grandmother gives him when she thinks he isn't paying attention. After spending so long as the object of hatred, fear, and suspicion, Obito feels as though he’s stewing underneath her kind gaze.

Thankfully, Team Minato’s training sessions mean that Obito is spending the majority of the day away from home. And in between all the expected D-ranks, he finds conditioning to be a convenient outlet.

It is worth mentioning that Obito isn’t interested in seeking power this time around. He just needs to restore his coordination, speed, and reflexes to the point where he’s strong enough to prevent somebody else from killing him and strong enough to prevent any harm from coming to either Rin or Kakashi. That alone means that he’s training harder than he ever had during his entire time in Konoha.

But even as his muscles ache and his skin bruises from the strain, Obito can’t prevent his mind from wandering.

Things weren’t perfect in the previous world, but circumstances truly took a turn for the worse after the mission to Kannabi Bridge. And Obito can’t help but wonder now if Team Minato would even be assigned to destroy Iwa’s supply lines this time. Could it have been random chance that they were entrusted with that mission?

However, Obito almost immediately acknowledges that the assignment was very likely one that was deliberately given to them. The Yellow Flash’s own team of students, led by Konoha’s youngest ever jōnin nonetheless, was all but guaranteed to be charged with such a high profile mission.

Granted that won’t happen for some time as he and Rin are only genin now.

For a brief moment, Obito had entertained the thought of deliberately failing the chūnin exam when the time came. Could such a delay prevent their team from being tossed straight onto the battlefield? Would it be possible for him to hold Rin and Kakashi back long enough for the war to end?

While it’s a compelling idea, Obito knows better. Given Kakashi’s prodigious skill, Konoha would still find a way to send him out into the warzone as soon as possible. They might even resort to splitting up Team Minato if they believed that either Obito or Rin was holding Kakashi back, and who knows what would happen then.

Although the traitorous voice in the back of Obito’s head whispers that such a measure could be for the best. It is ultimately Obito’s fault that Kakashi had lost his eye seeing as a far more competent teammate could have ensured his safety. However, Obito squashes down this thought viciously.

It’s been a recurring theme of his, shying away from uncomfortable thoughts and decisions. Likewise, Obito has yet to reach a verdict regarding his Sharingan.

The eyes are a curse in every way, shape, and form. But is the kekkei genkai worth having if it can help him keep his teammates safe? Or is the risk too great?

Perfect recollection is a double-edged sword after all. How many times had he wished to forget the terrible images that were forever implanted in his brain? And while nothing terrible has happened thus far, how can Obito be certain that the memories won’t drive him astray should misfortune befall them later?

Of course, this assumes that he possesses the emotional capacity necessary to awaken his Sharingan again.

“Obito, do you have time to talk?” a quiet voice addresses him.

They’ve reached the end of today’s training session. Kakashi and Sensei are already leaving, but Rin is still here, her eyes thoughtful as she regards Obito.

Obito nods, suddenly nervous.

For quite a few days following his arrival in the past, Obito had avoided spending any additional time with his teammates in an attempt to spare his already precarious state of mind. However, his behavior must have seemed extremely odd to Rin, considering how much time they spent with each other before.

Is she upset with him?

But Rin is wearing an expression that has become all too familiar now. It’s the very same one that his grandmother directs at him. And to Obito’s dismay, it’s one that Minato-sensei has begun to adopt as well.

 _You shouldn’t be concerned for me_ , Obito wants to say every single time Sensei looks at him. _If you knew what was best for the village, you’d slit my throat right here and now._

At no point had Obito ever considered that he could engender such a collective sense of worry in others, much less after proving that he’s unworthy of any kind of concern at all. He had initially believed that he would be able to hide his inner feelings from those around him, but he was very quickly proved wrong. It seems that no matter how hard he tries, Obito can’t fully wipe the haunted look from his expression.

“Is everything okay?” Rin asks, her inquiry jolting Obito back to reality. “You’ve been so different lately...”

Obito relaxes imperceptibly. At least it’s a question he’s prepared for.

“I think graduating made me realize something,” Obito begins, attempting to sound as introspective as possible. “We’ll never be going back to the classroom where a bad grade and a scolding from the teacher were the only consequences we'd face.”

He shakes his head. “This is real. One mistake could mean that the worst has happened, and there would be nothing I could do to change that. I wasn’t taking any of it seriously before.”

The most convincing story Obito could think of is that his perspective had changed drastically once he officially became a shinobi and that the gravity of the war and his role in it all had finally dawned on him. It’s an explanation that his grandmother had accepted, but she might’ve only done so because there weren’t many other plausible reasons out there.

Rin is silent for a moment, but she gives him a gentle smile soon after.

“I understand. It seems that you’ve been having a difficult time, but I’ll always be here for you. You know that, right?”

Obito nods again, this time not trusting himself to speak.

“Good,” she laughs. “We can head back together, let’s go.”

As he walks side by side with Rin, Obito doesn’t think there’s a world in which he could ever deserve her.

A part of him still wonders if there was ever a scenario in which Rin would have returned his affections. If Obito had mustered up the courage to confess his feelings, would her heart have still been set on Kakashi? Or would that not have even mattered? Could Obito have naturally grown out of his love for her?

But no one will ever know, seeing as all those possibilities had been cut brutally short.

Either way, Obito can’t help but think that someone as compassionate as Rin could be good for Kakashi. And he genuinely believes that Kakashi himself had valued Rin very much in the end.

Although speaking of Kakashi, it seems as though he doesn’t know what to make of Obito and his dramatic change in demeanor either. To Kakashi, it must appear as if he had simply abandoned their one-sided rivalry overnight.

Nevertheless, Obito hopes that they’ll be able to mend fences sooner here. They were never truly able to connect before, given how they were at each other’s throats up until the mission to Kannabi Bridge. He’d like to actually get to know Kakashi in this timeline.

But Obito doubts that he’ll have any success with Kakashi’s defenses still up. They were only able to find common ground after Obito had defended and praised Sakumo Hatake’s actions, and he suspects that something similar would need to happen here as well.

The sun is setting by the time they reach Rin’s home. While she’s letting herself in, Obito makes a mental note reminding himself to ask Minato-sensei about Kakashi’s father sometime later.

As he lifts his hand in goodbye, Obito wonders absentmindedly if there was ever a team so fraught with complicated relationships, deep-seated insecurities, and personal sorrows as Team Minato. Try as he might, it's difficult to imagine that there could be any other.

Regardless, only time will tell if their story is one destined to end in tragedy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emotional stability is not something that Obito has an abundance of right now


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As much as Obito wishes for change, taking action is unexpectedly difficult

As a team, they are almost cohesive now. And while they undeniably have room to improve, that alone places them miles above the Team Minato from Obito’s memories.

Teamwork never truly came naturally to them before. Despite Rin’s readiness to cooperate and mediate, Obito’s and Kakashi’s conflicting attitudes made seamless coordination near impossible. Unaware that Kakashi’s views were so deeply ingrained in grief, Obito had elected to engage in petty squabbles.

While Kakashi isn’t exactly amicable here, he is civil and seems to trust both his teammates to act with some degree of competence. The absence of Obito’s jealousy induced resentment is probably a major contributing factor, not to mention his notable increase in aptitude.

By now, Obito has already managed to surpass the skill of his previous self at this age. He can’t be considered powerful by any means, but he won’t be a burden to the others. When the time comes, he’ll be able to hold his own.

Kakashi, of course, is as adept as ever, but Obito has no intentions of falling into complacency. The world is an unkind one, and he knows all too well that even a prodigy armed with a Sharingan can fall.

Although that piece of knowledge only makes Obito even more worried for Rin.

Because Rin’s training was always centered on medical ninjutsu. Aside from basic taijutsu, she had possessed little in the way of offensive skills. Her role, at its core, had been to remain on the sidelines so that she could provide support when needed. And from what Obito can remember, Minato-sensei had emphasized that it was Obito's and Kakashi’s duty to defend her.

Obito can only assume that Sensei was operating under the widely held belief that a team’s medical nin should only participate in direct combat as a last resort. It’s a tenet that does make sense on a certain level, especially during a time of war. After all, medics can hardly heal their teammates if they themselves are incapacitated from battle.

But he still wonders if the mission to Kannabi Bridge could’ve turned out differently had Rin been a little more versed in hand-to-hand combat. While Obito doesn’t think that alone would’ve allowed her to dispatch her kidnapper on her own, the three of them together might have been able to fend the Iwa nin off.

All the same, Obito is unsure as to how he should broach this topic. Should he speak to Rin or to Minato-sensei? Either option could upset the dynamics of the team. Obito doesn’t want to seem presumptuous by implying that Minato-sensei’s training regimen is lacking. Nor does he want to assume that Rin would even wish to fight. Because even during the dangerous times they lived in, she had always seemed content in her role.

Is something like that even worth changing?

Team Minato is performing reasonably well after all. Their D-rank missions had given them no trouble, and they were allowed to take on C-ranks before long. But due to the complications of the Third Shinobi War, they’re only allowed to embark on assignments that take place within the Land of Fire.

By definition, all of their C-rank assignments have been fairly simple and typically call upon them to act as an intermediary for supply teams and messengers. Nonetheless, Team Minato has been able to complete these missions efficiently with very little to no issue.

Perhaps this means that Obito should focus his efforts on keeping his teammates out of dangerous situations, rather than fretting over how well equipped they are. The three of them are in a far better position than they were last time around. Maybe Obito should simply accept what they already have. Maybe it _is_ enough.

However, that argument hardly prevents him from contemplating the consequences of adopting such an approach. Obito can’t help but feel that certain events are destined to pass, that Rin and Kakashi will be in danger no matter his efforts to the contrary.

The three of them could always be assigned a different, equally high profile mission, but Obito is almost certain that they will be sent to destroy Kannabi Bridge when the time comes. And if that is the case, then every single member of Team Minato needs to be as prepared as possible.

Regardless of whatever Obito decides, he needs to do it soon.

Each day, Obito is reminded of how he’s running out of time. But there’s still a part of him that resists taking action, a part of him that’s too frightened of making an irreversible mistake. Month after month, he delays doing so. And it isn’t until Minato-sensei announces that he’s recommended for them to participate in the upcoming Chūnin Exams that Obito truly realizes just how much time he’s wasted.

Fortunately the exam does serve as a convenient milestone from which to enact change. At the very least, their overall performance will be able to inform his next course of action.

As he and Rin were able to pass before, Obito isn’t terribly concerned about the exam itself. Although, Team Minato does face a few more complications than most due to the fact that Kakashi is already a chūnin. In this scenario, another genin seeking promotion would generally be assigned to take Kakashi’s place for the exams. However, all of Konoha’s suitable genin are already part of a three-man squad, leaving no one available to act as a substitute.

Due to the present lack of alternatives, Kakashi has been permitted to enter the Chūnin Exams alongside Rin and Obito. Minato-sensei has informed the three that proctors will be keeping a watchful eye on them to ensure that Kakashi only plays a supporting role throughout the test given that he is nearing jōnin-level himself.

With Rin and Obito being the genin seeking promotion, it would be upon them to actively lead the team throughout the exam. And if the proctors determined that Kakashi’s skill was providing them with an unfair advantage, their team would be disqualified.

Upon first glance it might still seem a bit pointless to have a chūnin run through the tests for the sole purpose of filling out a number. However, Obito suspects that the proctors will also be monitoring Kakashi’s actions to determine how well he can downplay his own skill without being too overt or becoming a liability. He’s fairly certain that Kakashi’s conduct here will have some bearing on his upcoming jōnin promotion.

As a whole, these stipulations are quite reasonable. But what’s strange is that none of this had happened last time. Kakashi had been able to participate without any limitation on his actions before, and Obito wonders what could have led this to change.

The only possibility that comes to mind is that Obito’s increased prowess has brought about this alteration. It’s the only substantial difference between this time and the last.

Did Konoha’s higher-ups believe that the teams would be unbalanced without such restrictions? Was Kakashi permitted to act freely back then so that he could counter Obito’s own ineptitude? Is that what happened before?

Whatever the reasons, it hardly changes Obito’s own objectives. And on the first day of the Chūnin Exams, he reports to the building where stage one is scheduled to take place.

Obito is actually early, so he passes the time observing the other genin as they wait for the test to begin. While he remembers many of the participants passing, he suspects that a significant number of the genin gathered here would not have been promoted if it weren’t for the war. In all fairness, Obito might’ve been among them. But his musings are soon interrupted by their proctor, a terse jōnin who wastes very little time in getting to the point.

For the first stage, each team is assigned a coded message written on a piece of paper. All teams are given one hour to decipher the message by using the hints and notes hidden throughout the floor. At the end of the hour, the teams who have successfully decoded the message will progress to the next round.

Teams are permitted to move freely around the exam area and to destroy any clues they come across if they so desire. They are not, however, allowed to engage in any forms of direct combat with other participants as the task is designed to test their ability to gather information both swiftly and discreetly.

Rin takes charge for this stage seeing as Obito was never particularly inclined towards his studies or any kind of book learning. Kakashi remains quiet for the most part, occasionally offering suggestions as Rin leads the two around the floor. And within three-quarters of the time allotted, they have what appears to be the accurate translation of the message.

Near the very end of their hour, the proctor makes an announcement. If a team has deciphered their message incorrectly, they will be unable to take the Chūnin Exams again. However, teams will also be given the option to forfeit and leave. Those that choose to do so will automatically fail the present exam in exchange for the ability to retake it on a later date.

Several teams do accept this offer, clearly doubting their own efforts. But Obito, who recalls the test’s true purpose, knows better. The coded messages do not matter, and he suspects that many of the provided clues are deliberately contradictory. The only teams that will pass are the ones who display fortitude even in the face of failure.

Sure enough, once the forfeiting teams have departed, the proctor announces that all those remaining have moved on to the next round.

The second stage of the exams pairs up genin teams to face off against each other in the Forest of Death. Like last time, the three of them are matched with Team Chōza. But instead of springing thoughtlessly into action, Obito waits to see what their opponents will do.

Gai and Genma make a beeline for Kakashi the second the battle begins. But even while downplaying his skill, Kakashi easily keeps the two at bay. This allows Rin and Obito to take down Ebisu who seems taken off guard by their coordination.

Then Genma, distracted by his teammate’s defeat, is knocked off balance by a well-aimed kick from Kakashi. Obito capitalizes on Genma’s stumble by delivering a forceful blow to his stomach. And with that, two members of Team Chōza are down.

The proctor calls the match once Kakashi, Rin, and Obito converge on Gai, giving the win to Team Minato. However, Team Chōza is not eliminated after this stage; in fact, few genin are. Teams who display a strong showing, even losing teams, progress to the third stage.

The final round of the Chūnin Exams consists of the standard one-on-one tournament battles between the remaining participants. In a complete departure from past events, Kakashi sits out for this stage per the proctor’s instruction. Conveniently, this also evens out the numbers since one genin had elected to forfeit on account of the moderately severe concussion he received during the previous round.

Rin is knocked out of the competition rather quickly, but Obito knows that her skill as a medical nin is already enough to ensure her promotion. She joins Kakashi in the balcony to watch the remainder of the matches, still in good spirits.

Obito’s first opponent specializes in genjutsu. The illusions, while impressive for a genin, nevertheless fail to take any hold on him. His next opponent turns out to have limited hand-to-hand combat ability, and Obito soon finds himself up against Gai for the semi-finals.

Staring into Gai’s determined face, Obito realizes that he doesn’t exactly know what became of him in the previous world. Gai had perished with the rest of Konoha, that at least is certain. But Obito wonders if he had died in the initial onslaught or was simply picked off by one of the Akatsuki members prowling the wreckage for survivors.

Gai begins the match with a sudden kick that whistles past Obito’s ear, narrowly missing him. For all of the improvements that Obito has made, he can’t quite match the results of Gai’s fanatical training regimen. He’s able to keep Gai at a distance for much of the battle by utilizing a combination of shuriken and fire jutsus. But Gai eventually closes in as Obito’s stamina begins to flag, taking him out with a ruthless uppercut to the chin.

His jaw still throbbing in pain, Obito waits with his teammates to watch the rest of the matches play out. And after the final battle ends, of which Gai is the victor, the proctor announces the names of all the genin receiving a promotion. The venue explodes in excitement, but Obito can’t bring himself to share in their joy.

As he tries to smile with Rin and Sensei, Obito can only hope that his expression isn’t too hollow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At this point, it’s essentially impossible for Obito to not second guess himself. Every single time he tries to make a decision that involves someone else, the panic and fear set in. The truth of the matter is that he’s actually doing quite well.
> 
> Sidenote: This chapter can also be called “My attempt to make sense of and work around the source material’s inconsistencies.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obito hopes that clearer heads will make breaking barriers less difficult this time around.

Obito finally broaches the topic during a rare C-rank mission that surprisingly has nothing to do with the war. Team Minato has been tasked with escorting a tailor named Jun back to his home village, a moderately-sized town approximately eighty miles southeast of Konoha.

Jun, from what they’ve been told, makes a yearly trek to Konoha for supplies and has no intention of allowing the Third Shinobi War to stop him.

Even though he does live rather far from any sites of major combat, Obito is still a bit bewildered as to why any civilian would even wish to travel during an international armed conflict. In fact, none of the shinobi can quite comprehend the tailor’s motivations.

But a client is a client, and Jun evidently requires very specific textiles that are only manufactured and sold in Konoha.

The group of five is on their second day of travel when Obito decides that now is as good a time as any. They’ve already made camp by the riverbank for the night, but no one in their party has turned in yet.

Only Obito, Rin, and Sensei are at the campsite now. Jun is out exploring the small waterfalls nearby, accompanied by Kakashi who’s keeping a watchful eye on him. From where he’s sitting with Rin, Obito can just make out the two weaving in between the rocks by the water. He turns to look at Minato-sensei who’s just a few yards to the left of them, staring absentmindedly up at the night sky.

“Sensei?” Obito calls out, “can I ask you something?”

Rin starts to get to her feet, likely sensing that a serious conversation is imminent. However Obito takes her hand, signaling that he wants her to stay for this.

As much as she cared for Kakashi, Obito doesn’t think Rin was ever made aware of this in the previous world. She’s not the kind of person who would ask about these things, and Obito highly doubts that Kakashi would’ve told her himself. He does think that this is something that Rin should know about though.

“Yes, Obito?” Minato-sensei answers, regarding Obito with a curious glance.

Obito pauses briefly, unsure as to how he should phrase this. But he finally asks, “Is there a reason why Kakashi cares so much about the shinobi code?”

Although Obito and Kakashi no longer bicker as they did before, the prodigy’s staunch position on rules and regulations have remained unchanged. It seems best to start there with the obvious.

Sensei stares back up at the sky for one long moment before turning to Obito and Rin.

“This is something very personal to Kakashi,” he says, his voice somber. “But I do think that the two of you should know this. You’re his teammates after all.”

Minato-sensei lets out a sigh as he begins, a uncharacteristically heavy look in his eyes. “Kakashi’s father was Sakumo Hatake, a powerful shinobi who was known as the ‘White Fang of Konoha.’ He was about as famous and respected as a shinobi could be, that is up until the incident.”

“What happened?” Rin whispers. Next to her, Obito attempts to school his features so that he appears as apprehensive as she does.

“He was the leader of a highly difficult mission, and trouble befell his team while they were in enemy territory,” Sensei explains. “Sakumo was forced to choose between completing the mission or saving his teammate’s lives. He chose his comrades, but the consequences of the failed mission earned him the village’s scorn and derision.”

He shakes his head slightly at this as he looks off into the distance once more.

“This weighed heavily on Sakumo, and the burden led him to eventually take his own life,” Minato-sensei finishes, his eyes now fixed on Kakashi’s minuscule form, barely visible from their vantage point.

Rin lets out a little gasp at this, her hands covering her mouth.

“In all the time that I’ve known Kakashi, I’ve never heard him speak a word about Sakumo,” Sensei informs them. “I believe that he’s promised himself that he won’t make the same mistakes as his father, hence his adherence to the rules.”

The jōnin looks towards Rin and Obito again, giving them a pensive but appreciative smile. “I know that Kakashi is not the easiest person to deal with, so I want to thank the two of you for trying and working with him as well as you do.”

“He’s our teammate, of course we would do that,” Rin assures Minato-sensei as Obito nods in kind.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Sensei answers, his reply so quiet that Obito almost misses it. “I think the two of you should get some sleep,” he says, changing the subject. “It looks like Kakashi and Jun are heading back now.”

Obito and Rin take this subtle dismissal for what it is and bid Minato-sensei goodnight.

“I didn’t know…” Rin whispers as the two head down to the tents. She shoots a curious glance at Obito when he doesn’t automatically respond with a “Me neither.”

“I thought that something had to have happened,” he finally replies, not wanting to lie to her outright. “And I thought that it probably had to do with why Kakashi was always alone.”

“It makes sense,” she agrees dejectedly, her usually cheerful features now downcast. “Goodnight, Obito…”

Once again armed with this knowledge, Obito doesn’t actually initiate a conversation with Kakashi until several days after they’ve returned to Konoha. Out of consideration, he’s deliberately chosen to speak to him right before the weekend since Minato-sensei has given them all the next two days off. If Kakashi decides that he needs space after this, he won’t be obligated to see his teammates until the next week.

The sun is just starting to set as Sensei leaves the training grounds. Kakashi appears about ready to do the same, but Obito and Rin intercept him before he can make it too far.

Kakashi regards the two with an even stare as they approach.

Relations between the members of Team Minato have certainly improved, but Kakashi is noticeably cool and distant whenever he addresses his teammates. While no longer as judgmental as he once was, Kakashi still doesn’t speak to Rin or Obito unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Obito can only that his voice won’t betray his nervousness.

“I honestly don’t know how to go about saying this,” he begins.

And he really doesn’t. Last time, Obito had shouted at Kakashi before leaving him behind in the middle of a high stakes mission. The fact it had even worked then could be considered a miracle in and of itself. Hopefully, that success is one that can be replicated in a far less tense scenario.

A flicker of confusion flashes across the visible half of Kakashi’s face, but Rin gives Obito’s shoulder an encouraging nudge.

“I believe that the White Fang was a hero,” Obito finally declares after nothing else comes to mind.

Kakashi, already still before, seems to turn into a statue in the rays of dimming sunlight.

“Why…” His voice is measured, but Obito notices that Kakashi's left hand has clenched into a white-knuckled fist. “Why would you tell me that?”

“Because for all that you talk about rules and prioritizing the mission above else, I think you feel the same.”

“That’s-, I…” For a brief moment, Obito can see the beginnings of panic forming in Kakashi’s eyes before he quickly turns away.

This is completely different from how Kakashi had reacted last time. He had been utterly impassive then, and Obito remembers how infuriated he had been at the other boy’s seemingly uncaring demeanor.

But now, Kakashi seems almost overwhelmed by this turn of events.

“Like Minato-sensei has taught us, rules can’t account for everything,” Rin pitches in. “And the shinobi code is in place to ensure that we can serve the village and protect the people we care about, right?”

She smiles at him kindly, but Kakashi seems unwilling to lift his eyes from the ground.

Rin gives Obito a concerned look as if asking whether or not they should leave. But he shoots her a quick glance, shaking his head slightly. Obito had debated earlier over whether or not to do so, if they should back away to give Kakashi some space afterward.

But instead of turning his back on his teammate like last time, Obito would rather stay and let Kakashi make the decision to leave. He wants Kakashi to know that they won’t abandon him, that Obito and Rin will be there. And if Kakashi needs to be alone for the time being so that he can sort through his thoughts, that’s fine too.

“We’re here for you, Kakashi. That’s what matters,” Obito insists, hoping that their teammate will believe them.

Obito doesn’t know how long the three of them stand there in silence.

It becomes an odd sort of stalemate as it appears that Kakashi had indeed expected for Obito and Rin to leave first. But eventually, he seems to realize that the other two are in fact waiting for him. Kakashi shakes his head slightly as he sets out, still not quite able to meet either of his teammate’s eyes.

Rin and Obito exchange concerned looks before departing as well. It won’t be long before they find out whether or not they’ve managed to do more harm than good.

Two days later, Obito and Rin discover that Kakashi seems to want to keep them at even more of a distance than usual. But to Obito’s immense relief, this doesn’t last. And from there, Kakashi had become slightly more inclined to interact with his teammates. It wasn’t much at first, just a nod here and a piece of advice there, but it was still something.

The change is slow and almost indiscernible, but the crucial difference is that Kakashi is starting to work _with_ them rather than alongside them.

It’s tangible progress at the very least, and it makes Obito feel slightly more hopeful about his chances of fixing things. Still, he can’t help but think that any other member of Team Minato would’ve been better suited to the task of putting the world right.

Rin could’ve done this. As a medical nin, her goal was to heal and put things back together.

Despite everything that Kakashi had been through, he had never once considered turning his back on Konoha.

Of course, this also would have been a simple task for Minato-sensei. Even while grieving the loss of his students, Sensei had reformed and revitalized Konoha into a stronger and better village.

And then there’s Obito. When push came to shove, he ultimately chose to destroy the world in his selfishness.

But for better or for worse, this duty is one that only he can carry out. And by now, Obito has reached the point where he can hold most of his anxieties at bay and prevent them from outright consuming him.

At least that’s the case up until Sensei’s latest announcement. This is something that Obito should have seen coming. He shouldn't have been caught of guard by this. The change in meeting place should’ve been a dead giveaway.

“Alright you three,” Minato-sensei proclaims, “I’ve got information about your next mission!”

At once, Obito’s blood freezes in his veins. He doesn’t even need to hear Sensei’s next words to know what this is.

_It’s here._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, for the mission that Obito is dreading…


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s time to test if certain events are truly set in stone.

“Now that Kakashi is a jōnin,” Minato explains, “the three of you will be carrying out your next assignment without me.”

The four of them hadn’t lingered at the clearing, remaining just long enough to congratulate Kakashi on his promotion and give him their celebratory gifts.

And although the timing of the mission itself had taken him by surprise, Obito did actually have a present ready for Kakashi. He had fortunately obtained it well in advance, electing to leave it in his pack for safekeeping until the situation arose. This time around, Kakashi receives a set of sharpening stones from Obito in addition to Rin’s specialized first aid kit and Minato-sensei’s Flying Thunder God kunai.

While the four walk, Sensei begins to outline the parameters of their current mission. “As the three of you are aware, Konoha is currently experiencing a shortage of forces. This puts us at a disadvantage against Iwa whose shinobi number in the hundreds.”

He retrieves a map from his pack, unfolding it as he continues. “Because of this, our team has been assigned to infiltrate Kusagakure. Iwa requires a steady stream of supplies and reinforcements to maintain their numbers, so they’ve been relying heavily on Kannabi Bridge for transportation.”

Minato-sensei now turns to address Kakashi. “You will be leading Rin and Obito, and three of you will travel to Kannabi Bridge and destroy it.” He gestures towards the boundary lines indicated on the map. “Meanwhile, I will be engaging Iwa’s frontline here.”

Both Kakashi and Rin nod to indicate their understanding while Obito fruitlessly tries to ignore the way his insides are twisting in anxiety.

“We’ll travel to the border together and then split,” Sensei assures them, looking at each of their faces in turn.

“It’ll be fine,” Minato-sensei says with an encouraging smile, no doubt catching sight of Obito’s uneasy expression.

 _But you died,_ Obito wants to say. _You all died, and I watched._

Of course, none of that had actually happened during this particular assignment. But it feels as if those are the stakes here. This mission was the first occasion in which the three of them were truly at risk of dying. Kakashi was partially blinded, Rin was kidnapped by the enemy, and Obito himself had nearly been crushed to death.

This time, Obito intends to do everything in his power to ensure that he, Rin, and Kakashi walk away from the mission whole and well. If he can succeed at this, it will be an auspicious sign for the future.

Although that’s not to say that he isn’t concerned for Minato-sensei. Obito is only slightly less worried about Sensei’s survival considering that it took a full-scale invasion of Konoha to bring him down.

And while Obito is determined for that to never come to pass in this world, he needs to focus on the events currently playing out before them. Because judging by how the terrain is slowly shifting from grassy fields to towering forests, the very first ambush is just about ready to occur.

Right on cue, Kakashi comes to a halt upon sensing the Iwa nin’s presence up ahead. Minato-sensei pauses as well to confirm this and quietly cautions the three about the twenty or so enemies scattered throughout the area.

If they are to face the same team of Iwa nin as before, Obito knows what will happen. Kakashi will insist on facing the adversary alone, unveil his new jutsu, and blitz through the Iwa nin’s shadow clones with the Chidori before very narrowly avoiding a fatal injury.

However, Obito can only watch and bite his tongue as Kakashi and Sensei begin to disagree about their next course of action.

There’s no way Obito can claim to know the enemy shinobi’s plan of attack, that the Iwa nin will confront Kakashi in person once the shadow clones have been destroyed. He can’t justify knowing that their adversary will exploit the Chidori’s weakness, nor does Obito have any reason to even know about this newly developed technique.

Kakashi must have developed and trained this jutsu outside of the team’s usual training sessions. He had kept the Chidori under wraps to the extent that Rin and Obito were unaware of its existence until this very mission.

Obito can barely keep himself from flinching as lightning chakra crackles and pools around Kakashi’s right hand, the blinding arcs of electricity casting a flickering light over their group of four. He hears Rin gasp from next to him as the chirping sounds of the lightning converge in a hum.

“Please be careful,” Obito blurts out, unable to stop the words from leaving his mouth. It may be uncalled for, but all he can think about is just how close Kakashi had been to death before Minato-sensei intervened.

Kakashi glances at him in confusion, and it seems as though his unyielding expression shifts ever so slightly in that moment. Obito doesn’t know what this means, but maybe the undisguisable fear in Obito’s face was able to convince Kakashi in a way that Sensei’s quiet disapproval couldn’t.

Obito turns to Minato-sensei as Kakashi launches himself out into the open. “Please Sensei,” he whispers, almost inaudibly.

Kakashi may be too proud to ask directly for help, but Obito has no such qualms about doing so on his behalf.

Minato-sensei thankfully seems to understand, giving him a minuscule nod as he follows Kakashi’s lightning-quick trajectory with a vigilant eye. Sensei fires a rally of kunai and shuriken to cover Kakashi before indicating for Rin and Obito to continue onwards.

They do so, attempting to cover the distance as quickly as possible while still remaining alert to their surroundings.

All the while, the enemy’s shadow clones disintegrate one by one, each of them falling to the Chidori as Kakashi scans the vicinity for their caster. Once only one remains, Kakashi charges at the Iwa nin who likewise lunges towards him with sword in hand.

Except Minato-sensei materializes between the two before they can connect. He flings Kakashi out of the way so that the enemy’s blade narrowly misses slashing him across the torso. Kakashi lands on the grass and comes up in a shoulder roll, already beginning to reactivate the Chidori.

However, he turns to find that Minato-sensei has already dispatched their opponent with a kunai to the throat. Kakashi allows the lightning to dissipate from his palm as the Iwa nin’s body falls to the ground with a dull thud.

“Is everyone alright?” Sensei calls out, looking between his three students.

Obito, Rin, and Kakashi all nod as one.

“Let’s move on then.”

Aside from Sensei advising Kakashi to not use his new jutsu, the group of four remains mostly silent as they continue their trek through the forest. While Rin, Kakashi, and Minato-sensei are likely ruminating over the near-miss with the Iwa nin, Obito can only think about how the events played out in contrast to last time.

It was indeed the very same enemy shinobi, and he had died at Sensei’s hands once again. In addition, the Iwa nin’s and Kakashi’s tactics were identical to the previous time. The primary difference between then and now was that Kakashi had managed to avoid injury here.

But despite the changed outcome, neither Kakashi nor Minato-sensei had acted very differently in comparison to before. Maybe Sensei was faster or Kakashi was more cautious this time, but there’s no way that can truly be determined. It’s possible that Obito’s words from earlier did have an impact, but he still can’t rule out the effects of random chance.

And although Obito tries not to linger on such speculations, he remains preoccupied throughout the afternoon and up until they make camp in the evening.

As the sky darkens, Obito watches as Minato-sensei settles himself on the stone to stand guard for the night. But there’s no need for Obito to speak to him this time after having previously done so with Rin. And seeing as she’s already settled in for the night, Obito figures that he’ll take a few minutes to collect his thoughts before turning in himself.

But to Obito’s immense surprise, Kakashi approaches him to have a word.

“I know Minato-sensei has said that I’m not to use the Chidori anymore,” Kakashi remarks as he leans against a tree that’s slightly out of Obito’s line of sight. “But you didn’t seem to like the jutsu even before I used it. Care to explain why?”

“You’re right, I don’t like it,” Obito answers honestly before wracking his brains for a way to justify his automatic response.

It’s a complicated feeling to rationalize in the first place considering that Obito only ever saw Kakashi using the Chidori during this very mission.

He assumes that Kakashi must have resumed its use once he had the Sharingan to account for the jutsu’s drawbacks. He assumes that Kakashi was able to use the Chidori safely and successfully after that. But Obito wasn’t around to witness any of it. 

Maybe his knowledge of the future is the reason for his apprehension. It might be due to the fact that Obito has no intention of having Kakashi lose an eye this time. And on top of that, he doesn’t know if it would even be possible to perfect the jutsu without a Sharingan.

“It’s too offensive of a technique,” Obito finally replies, hoping that he can make Kakashi understand.

Judging by the way that Kakashi glances over at him, it wasn’t the answer he was expecting.

“What do you mean by that?” Kakashi asks, and Obito can almost hear the confusion in his voice.

“You have to get in extremely close to use it, but it provides no means for defense,” Obito explains. “It has purely offensive capabilities, so your only option is to kill your opponent before they can do the same to you.”

Kakashi doesn’t say anything, so Obito takes this as an invitation to go on.

“You could kill an S-rank shinobi in an instant with the Chidori. But almost anyone could get the drop on you with nothing more than a lucky hit. A genin could get the drop on you. _I_ could get the drop on you,” Obito adds for emphasis.

Minato-sensei’s instructions from earlier implied that he expected Kakashi to perfect the jutsu before using it again in combat. However, Obito would honestly feel more at ease if his teammate retired the high-risk technique in its entirety.

Even with the aid of a Sharingan, the Chidori still seems volatile enough for any number of things to go wrong. But Obito isn’t sure how he can convey this to Kakashi without offending him.

_What had Kakashi said before about only carrying useful things on a mission?_

“It’s an incredible jutsu, but I think there’s a better one out there. You shouldn’t have to settle for this one,” Obito concludes, hoping that he hasn’t angered Kakashi.

For one long moment, there is only silence.

Then Kakashi lets out a long exhale as he gets to his feet. I’ll take that into consideration,” is all he says before leaving.

Obito supposes he can count that conversation as a success of sorts, especially since Kakashi seems to bear no animosity towards him come morning. And that’s all for the better considering that the most perilous part of their assignment is still yet to come.

Circumstances have already changed, but Obito doesn’t know if that bodes well for the rest of the mission or if it’s simply a means of providing him with false hope. So it’s a pervasive sense of uncertainty that fills him when the four of them reach the border.

Minato-sensei raises his hand in farewell.

“Good luck, I’ll leave you three to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The situation has been progressing favorably so far, but the mission is far from over.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The three set off on their own.

Truthfully, Obito doesn’t know if he’s occupying an alternate dimension or if he’s actually managed to reverse time. And he highly doubts that he will ever know for certain. But one thing that he’s known from the very start is that he can only rely so much on his own recollections.

Obito’s memories from after Kannabi Bridge are as clear as still water, but the ones that precede the awakening of his Sharingan remain hazy and indistinct in comparison. The knowledge of his own imperfect memories is something that never fails to bring him unease, especially during a mission in which such foresight is crucial.

However in this particular instance, Obito is almost certain that his account of Rin’s kidnapping and the following events is comprehensive and accurate. It had all happened in a frenzied blur, but he knows that the two Iwa nin had ambushed them in the bamboo grove. One attacked from the front with bamboo projectiles, and the other had the ability to camouflage himself.

Obito has an idea as to how to handle this, a strategy so loose and structureless that it would be far too generous to describe it as a plan. A definite plan wouldn’t be much use to Obito anyway, not in a situation with so many moving parts at play. He’s the only one who truly understands the stakes here, so he has to be adaptable in his methods.

He’s left to consider potential scenarios and means of action as the three draw ever nearer to their destination, but this only leads Obito to ruminate on how terribly wrong things went last time.

_How much of this had been his fault?_

How much of this could’ve been avoided if Obito had only remembered to use his head during the mission?

After Rin was taken, Obito had quickly grown infuriated at Kakashi and the reasons he gave for continuing with the mission. But as cold as Kakashi’s rationale had been, it was still based upon common sense and logic. Obito, on the other hand, could only think about the girl he loved.

Obito hadn’t cared about what would happen if they were unable to destroy the bridge, if Iwa were to continue funneling supplies and troops to the frontlines. He hadn’t thought about how many more Konoha shinobi would die if the war was further prolonged. Never once did he acknowledge the unavoidable consequences that would result from failing such a crucial mission.

The repercussions would’ve been astronomical, and the blame would’ve fallen on Kakashi. History could’ve repeated itself, all because Obito had been too shortsighted and too naïve to listen to reason.

Would he have fought so hard if it were anybody but Rin, the girl he was utterly infatuated with?

Obito isn’t sure if he can answer that question.

He had convinced himself that Rin was somebody who needed to be protected, but she was also brave and strong. Rin knew what it meant to be a shinobi during a time of war. And yet, Obito had still turned their assignment into a catastrophe.

All the ghosts of Kakashi’s past had come back to haunt him during this mission, and Obito had thrown his distress back in his face. He certainly hadn’t intended to hurt Kakashi, and he had only acted out of concern for Rin’s safety.

But upon reflection, Obito realizes that she would’ve likely remained unharmed had he and Kakashi returned for her later. Those Iwa nin had taken Rin for interrogation, and they would’ve been hard-pressed to extract answers out of a dead shinobi. And like Kakashi had stated before, the Iwa nin would’ve wanted to keep a medic alive anyway.

Regardless of all this speculation, Obito has no desire to test any of those theories this time around. Thwarting Rin’s kidnappers could be the key to turning this mission around, and they need to be on guard to even have a chance of doing that.

“Hey, Kakashi?” Obito begins, nervously breaking the silence. Kakashi’s resolute gaze shifts to rest on him as Obito’s heart rate begins to increase.

“Do you think it might be a good idea to change our formation a little?” he suggests, attempting to sound as nonconfrontational as possible. “We could put Rin in a more secure spot. She’s a medic after all,” Obito explains, gesturing to her visible pack of supplies.

“Enemy shinobi might be inclined to capture her,” Obito continues after Kakashi doesn’t answer right away, speaking even more quickly out of nervousness, “Especially when they’re from a hidden village that doesn’t have many medical nin to begin with.”

Both Rin and Kakashi have stopped to look at him now, their expressions displaying varying degrees of contemplation and surprise.

There’s a brief moment of silence before Kakashi gives Obito a slight nod. “That sounds reasonable,” he responds, and he steps back so that he’s standing behind Rin. “I’ll bring up the rear then. Do you know the way well enough to lead?”

Obito nods silently, stunned that his proposal even worked.

“It’s settled. Let’s move out.”

It’s early afternoon when Obito hears the telltale sounds of other shinobi moving about. He slows down ever so slightly, hoping that Rin and Kakashi have also recognized the presence of enemies up ahead.

Obito comes to a complete halt after only a few more steps, tensing in anticipation of the first attack. The other two follow his lead, likewise at the ready.

_There!_

Obito uses the Great Fireball Technique to incinerate the bamboo fragments as he had before, but this time he increases the breadth of the jutsu in hopes of striking their attackers.

Kakashi seems to be of a similar mindset. Before the flames have fully subsided, he uses an earth jutsu to open up a sinkhole in the ground in front of them. A shout followed by a heavy thump indicates that he was able to hinder at least one of their enemies.

However, that’s hardly an invitation for them to lower their guard. Still on the lookout, Obito scans the area before them as Kakashi does the same in the back. There’s potentially one more enemy out there, and it could be the Iwa nin that could essentially turn himself invisible.

Rin’s sudden cry of surprise draws their attention, and they turn to see the air shimmering before it takes the shape of a very large man. The second Iwa nin seizes her by the middle but finds his retreat hampered due to Kakashi’s unyielding grip on Rin’s arm.

The enemy shinobi wastes no time, unearthing a knife and driving it into Kakashi’s left shoulder. Kakashi lets out a hiss of pain as the blade cuts into his arm, but he still doesn’t let go of his teammate.

Seeing an opening, Rin twists in her captor’s grip and drives her forearm into the Iwa nin’s face with as much force as she can muster. Her elbow impacts his skull with an echoing crack, causing the enemy shinobi to inadvertently loosen his hold as his head snaps backward from the force.

For the most part, the Iwa nin seems more stunned than hurt by the blow. But Kakashi takes advantage of his momentary lapse to wrench Rin away, sending the enemy shinobi flying with a kick to the stomach. Obito grabs Rin by the wrist the second that she’s free of the Iwa nin’s grasp and pulls her away so that she’s well out of the enemy’s reach.

But Rin’s eyes grow wide with alarm as Obito begins to put distance between them and her would-be kidnapper. “Behind you!” she shouts, pointing over his shoulder.

Obito reacts instinctively, blindly throwing a kunai behind him and praying that it strikes true.

It isn’t until he’s hit in the back by the second Iwa nin’s falling body that Obito realizes that his weapon had indeed found its mark. Rin hurries forward to support him so that he doesn’t topple over under the enemy’s deadweight.

Once steady, Obito looks up and is met with the heart-stopping sight of Kakashi doubled over in pain, clutching his injured shoulder as the Iwa nin bears down on him.

Rin and Obito both begin to scream out a warning, but the enemy shinobi abruptly freezes in his tracks, his blade only inches away from Kakashi’s face. The weapon slips out of the Iwa nin’s slackened grip to land harmlessly onto the ground. And then the enemy shinobi slowly looks down at his chest, at where he’s impaled himself on the tantō held in Kakashi’s outstretched arm.

Kakashi pulls his sword back as the Iwa nin slumps to the ground. From the looks of it, it won’t be long before the shinobi’s already sluggish movements cease entirely. Kakashi resheaths his sword with one fluid moment before swaying on the spot, no doubt feeling the effects of the bleeding gash in his shoulder.

Rin rushes over to help, already rifling through her medical bag. Obito follows after her, astonished that circumstances had unfolded as well as they did. Rin is still with them, and the three Iwa nin who had given them so much trouble before are dead and gone.

They might actually be able to get through this.

“Give me your arm,” Rin orders, motioning for Kakashi to sit down.

“It’s nothing,” insists Kakashi, but he complies nonetheless as Rin rolls up his sleeve.

Rin examines the gash in his shoulder carefully before unwrapping a roll of gauze. “It seems like the blade didn’t go in too deep, and it missed the major nerves as well.”

She glances up from the bandages as she says this, regarding Kakashi with a fond expression. “Thank you for that by the way, for what you did.”

A perplexed look crosses over Kakashi’s face as he looks up to meet her eyes. “What are you talking about?” he asks, grimacing slightly as Rin begins to clean out the wound.

“You didn’t let him take me,” Rin explains, smiling down at him. “Thank you.”

Kakashi only nods in response, seemingly at a loss for words.

With a combination of bandages and medical ninjutsu, Rin is able to patch Kakashi up to the point where he can continue on with the assignment at hand. He’ll be a little fatigued from the stab wound, but he should be able to get through the remainder of the mission without too much of an issue.

The three of them hide the Iwa nin before departing, dragging their bodies into the sinkhole that Kakashi had formed and covering them with more of the disruppted earth. It’s not a particularly thorough job, but they just need to ensure that the corpses aren’t immediately visible to any shinobi that might pass by.

From there on, it’s a matter of avoiding the patrols and lookouts. This part of the mission is comparatively simple as they’re able to avoid direct combat by slipping through undetected.

However, there was one nerve-wracking moment in which they narrowly avoided detection by an especially large squad of enemy shinobi. From the snippets of conversation that the three overhead, they seemed to be a unit of reinforcements searching for the three Iwa nin that Team Minato had defeated.

Rin, Kakashi, and Obito had been traveling through the treetops when they heard the sounds of voices drawing closer. And to their dismay, that particular group of Iwa nin seemed intent on surveying the area instead of just passing through like the others.

Obito doesn’t believe that either one of them had even breathed as the enemy shinobi walked below their hiding place. It wouldn’t have taken much to doom them either, just a sensor to notice their chakra signatures up in the tree branches. But if there was a sensor on the squad, it wasn’t a particularly potent one. And much to their relief, the Iwa nin eventually decided there was nothing to be found and continued onwards.

They’re very close now, but they can’t let their guard down just yet even though this is farther than Obito had ever gotten before. He was left underneath the rubble in his previous world and was never able to witness Kannabi Bridge in its whole, undamaged state. And while it appears that Obito will be able to see this mission through, he can’t afford to be complacent now.

The next hour consists of a stressful routine of watching, waiting, and darting forwards. It becomes more and more difficult to remain unnoticed as the number of Iwa nin stationed nearby seems to have tripled. The three of them sneak by patrol after patrol, guard after guard as they pick out blind spots and manufacture distractions. Every second, they’re at risk of discovery. Every second, they risk losing it all.

But when they finally lay eyes on the enormous bridge, Obito doesn’t think he’s ever seen such a welcoming sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obito’s passed one hurdle, but it only opens up more uncertainty than ever.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obito enters uncharted territory.

Wherever Obito is right now, it’s dark.

It’s a kind of darkness so complete and absolute that Obito doubts that even the Sharingan could see through it. But the assumption is an irrelevant one, seeing as he doesn’t have the eyes anyway.

Obito is left to stumble around in the emptiness, totally and utterly disoriented. The void seems unending, and he fears that it might just swallow him whole.

And suddenly Rin is there, appearing out of the nothingness that surrounds him.

“There you are!” She gives him a sweet smile as she takes Obito’s hand in her own.

Obito breathes a sigh of relief and opens his mouth to ask what’s going on. He has no idea where this place is or how they even came to be here. But before Obito can say or do anything else, Rin takes her other hand and plunges it into his chest.

He can feel her fingers tear through the skin, muscle, and flesh as if they were made of paper. Obito can feel her breaking through his ribs and sternum, the bones splintering like twigs. He feels Rin’s hand finally close into a vice grip around his beating heart before she wrenches it from his body.

Still smiling, she holds it out to him in crimson-stained hands while the blood drips from her fingers and onto his feet.

Obito collapses to the ground in agony, his body no longer able to obey his commands. He can feel his hands clutching futilely at the gaping wound in his chest.

All the while, Rin continues to address him in a friendly voice.

“You won’t be needing this now, will you?” she asks cheerfully. “It’s not like you used it much before. And look where we all ended up when you did.”

His attempts to protest are pitiful as his voice can barely produce more than a pitiful gurgling sound. But Rin is right, isn’t she? Obito had been nothing but ruthless and selfish in the world that he left behind.

The blood continues to pour from the hole in Obito’s chest as his head hits the ground with a muted thud. Lying there, he notes vaguely that he can no longer see Rin. She’s moved out of his field of vision, leaving him to stare dully into the blackness above.

Then Kakashi is standing before him, giving him an encouraging look. He crouches next to him and reaches out a hand as if intending to help Obito up.

Gasping for air, Obito extends a bloodstained hand to meet his. But Kakashi’s fingers reach for his face instead, and with one swift movement, he plucks Obito’s eyes cleanly from his skull.

It’s a sickening sensation that Obito has only experienced once before, watching the world blur and pitch forward uncontrollably before his vision blacks out entirely.

As Obito howls in pain, he hears Kakashi speaking as if from far, far away.

“I’ll be taking these,” he says, and Kakashi’s tone is matter-of-fact like they’re simply engaging in small talk. “You couldn’t be trusted with them after all.”

And Kakashi is right too, Obito realizes as the blood begins to stream freely down the sides of his face. If it hadn’t been for his Sharingan, he would’ve never been able to bring forth the destruction he had.

At this point, Obito can no longer tell if the blood coating his fingers is from his chest or his face. Aside from the pool of blood he’s lying in, there is only darkness and pain. And as the last of his remaining strength fades, Obito can just make out the sounds of footsteps fading away into the distance.

_Maybe this is for the best…_

Obito wakes with an almost inaudible gasp.

He stares up at the ceiling of his bedroom, panting for air like a man on the verge of drowning. All the while, the pounding of his heart echoes like a drum in his ears. Obito lies there motionless for one minute before he sits up in bed, all the while forcing his breathing to slow.

Once he’s inhaling and exhaling at a more normal rate, Obito gets out of bed and makes his way over to the kitchen. He fills up a glass of water from the sink, moving quietly so as to not wake up his grandmother, and takes a seat on the cold floor with his back to the counter.

With his eyes fixed upon the beam of moonlight shining through the kitchen window, Obito sips his water and tries to avoid thinking about the dream that had awakened him.

Obito has been no stranger to nightmares since his foray into the past. This one had just caught him off guard, it wasn't even one of the worse ones. It's certainly not the first time that Obito has dreamed about Rin and Kakashi killing him.

However, he had hoped that coming back from Kannabi Bridge might’ve changed things.

The remainder of that mission had played out smoothly, almost absurdly so. After reaching their destination at long last, the three had scurried over to hide underneath the bridge while the Iwa nin were preoccupied with the changing of patrols.

They had then split up, each of them with a stack of explosive tags to plant along the underside of the bridge. Once finished, the three had regrouped and crept back up to the treetops. And as soon as they retreated to a safe enough distance, Kakashi had detonated the tags.

Throughout his prolonged existence, Obito has witnessed spectacles that most would consider impossible or unbelievable. And yet, there was something undeniably breathtaking about the sight of Kannabi Bridge crumbling into smithereens.

The ground shook as the tags exploded and expelled thick clouds of black smoke into the early morning air. The massive slabs of stone had creaked and groaned before breaking to pieces, raining bits of pulverized rock and dust into the river below. And in a matter of seconds, the once imposing structure was reduced to a number of jagged chunks of stone scattered throughout the gorge.

The Iwa nin were flung into a frenzy as they attempted to simultaneously search for the saboteurs and rescue the ones who were unfortunate enough to be on the bridge as it had collapsed. But eventually, they were forced to retreat out of concern that more explosions were imminent.

Once the enemy shinobi had cleared the area, the three of them approached the wreckage to better appraise their handiwork. They stood there together on the meager chunk of walkway that still jutted out over the river. And it was only then, looking out at the destruction, that Obito was truly able to comprehend just how vital Kannabi Bridge had been to Iwa’s war effort.

Without the aid of a bridge, a single shinobi could have traversed the gap without too much difficulty. But it would be unthinkable to have entire troops crossing the river. They would be far too vulnerable to surprise attacks under those circumstances, and transporting supplies of any kind would have been out of the question as well.

Lost in contemplation, Obito had nearly missed Kakashi leaping over the jagged edge of the bridge to land lightly on one of the broken stone pillars below. A worried look had crossed over Rin’s face at this, and she turned to give Obito a questioning glance.

Obito hadn’t spoken, instead inclining his head in the direction of their teammate. Nonetheless, Rin seemed to have understood him. She had given Obito a small smile before jumping off the ledge to join Kakashi on the rubble.

Kakashi himself barely showed any reaction to her approach, but Rin was undeterred as she hopped up onto the rock next to him. Obito hadn’t gone out of his way to focus on the two, although they had remained silent for the most part anyway. Obito did observe them exchange a word or two, and from out of the corner of his eye, he had noticed Rin reach out to casually take Kakashi’s hand in hers. Kakashi hadn’t exactly returned the gesture, but he hadn’t shaken her off either.

 _Things really have changed,_ Obito had thought, almost numb with relief.

And the three had remained there, standing silently before the demolished bridge, up until Minato-sensei rejoined them.

Sensei had looked extremely alarmed upon only finding Obito there at the edge of the bridge. But Obito was quick to point out Rin’s and Kakashi’s whereabouts, and Minato-sensei had relaxed right away, his face softening at the sight of their joined hands.

Minato-sensei’s own portion of the mission was naturally a resounding success, and he was quite pleased upon witnessing the evidence of his students’ own accomplishments. While he was concerned by the injury to Kakashi’s shoulder, Sensei was mollified by Rin’s assurances that the wound should heal completely. And with that, the four had set off for Konoha feeling weary but triumphant.

Upon reaching the village gates, Minato-sensei had congratulated the three on a job well done. He quickly dismissed them, but not before instructing Kakashi to head straight to the hospital for a quick check up on his arm.

Obito had walked away in a kind of daze that lasted up until he opened his front door. His grandmother had given him a hug nearly the instant that he entered, breaking him out of his reverie and promising to make him his favorite dinner in celebration.

It had felt almost wrong to be coming back to Konoha after the mission, to be experiencing the substantial changes that his interference had wrought. Obito had made various other alterations here and there, but returning home was indisputable proof that his current reality was diverging completely from the timeline of his previous world.

And this knowledge should be filling Obito with a feeling of accomplishment. But now, as he sits on the cold kitchen floor, there is no such sense of fulfillment.

As much as he had been banking on their success at Kannabi Bridge, Obito realizes now that the mission itself is only a small event in the grand scheme of things. Because in all actuality, he has yet to actually save anyone. Obito has only managed to preserve the right side of his own body and Kakashi’s left eye. He’s saved himself from Madara’s clutches but nothing more than that.

Kiri is where hell truly broke loose, where Kakashi and Rin had lost their lives. But Obito has no knowledge about their final mission or even why the two were sent to the Land of Water in the first place. He’ll have to be on the lookout for any mission that takes them anywhere near Kiri, any mission that seems like it could be the one.

Obito tries to think about Kiri and just Kiri, ignoring the chances that there might just be another mission that does them all in. He doesn’t want to think about how Minato-sensei might now be at risk thanks to Obito’s meddling, about the possibility that he’s engineered a tradeoff that would call instead for Sensei to meet his end prematurely.

Maybe if Obito fixates on Kiri, he won’t have to consider all the different ways that he could still fail. But try as he might, there’s no disguising the fact that Obito knows almost nothing about what’s to come.

One thing, though, is certain. This is far from over.

Obito lets out half a yawn before reminding himself about the training session that Team Minato has scheduled in the morning. He gets to his feet and stretches, groaning as his spine realigns itself.

There’s no clock in the kitchen so Obito attempts to judge the time by the moon’s position in the night sky. He squints through the kitchen window for almost a full minute before giving it up as a bad job.

It’s late, that’s all he needs to know.

Obito sighs, refilling his glass from the sink before taking it back to his room.

If he’s lucky, he might be able to sneak in a few more hours of sleep before morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Obito’s nightmare was one of the first sections that I wrote out for this story.


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time not spent on missions is just another opportunity to reflect and worry.

Obito had thought that the feeling of returning from Kannabi Bridge was odd, but the village’s reaction to Team Minato’s success truly throws him for a loop. It’s become quite difficult to ignore, even now as he leaves his house for the day’s training session. Obito supposes that it probably has to do with how immediate the effects were from their mission.

Before the stone had even finished crumbling away, it was clear that Iwa could no longer maintain their aggressive surge into Kusagakure without the aid of their reinforcements and supplies. The loss of the bridge along with Minato-sensei’s contributions at the frontlines had struck a devastating blow to their enemy.

Iwa had been forced to withdraw most of their troops shortly afterward, and the overall consensus was that they were unlikely to regain their lost ground. Because of this, the sentiment in Konoha has transformed into a hopeful and almost celebratory one. Team Minato is regarded with praise for this victory, one that looks to be turning the tides of the war.

It’s a completely new experience for him to witness the gradual progression of the conflict and the village’s shifting reactions to it. He was isolated from this before, literally underground and locked away from it all.

But even when he was in the village, Obito doesn’t think that the Third Shinobi War had ever felt quite real to him. He was preoccupied with his own issues, and the armed conflict raging on outside of the village was more of an afterthought.

Obito was well aware that he was a soldier, yet the hazards of war had always seemed like a distant possibility. Those dangers were things that befell other people, and his naivety had led him to assume that he and the ones that he cared for would remain untouched. Obito had never realized how quickly the tables could turn, not until he was telling his teammates to leave him underneath the crushed stone so that they could save themselves from certain harm.

And this errant thought leads him to wonder what it must’ve been like last time, to return from a successful mission short one shinobi. Obito assumes that the village’s sentiment as a whole was fairly similar, but he can only imagine that the level of grief that the Uchiha clan must have given Kakashi for daring to come back with Obito’s Sharingan.

Of course, he’s almost certain that they were motivated by a collective feeling of egotism rather than a sense of loyalty towards Obito himself. His clan was never terribly fond of him to begin with if his memories serve him correctly.

And that’s one thing that hasn’t changed in the slightest. The clan elders seem no more impressed with Obito now than they were before. The fact that he has yet to awaken his Sharingan has not endeared him to them. Nor are they pleased by Obito’s rather staunch intent to keep a low profile and remain on the sidelines.

“Weak” and “pathetic” are only a few of the words that Obito overhears them use, but he honestly can’t find it within himself to care about what they think anymore. He once held all of the power in the world and used it to bring life and civilization to a ruin. So let him be inept and lacking, that way he can’t hurt anybody again.

To put it plainly, the alternative is just not something that he can bear.

Obito slows his pace, trying to clear his head and replace his present thoughts with more benign ones before he arrives at the training ground. He tries to avoid showing up somber since the rest of the team tends to notice whenever he’s in a particularly heavy mood.

Once he reaches his destination, however, Obito realizes that he should’ve just waited at home for a little longer before even setting out.

After their latest assignment, he’s noticed that Rin and Kakashi have both started to arrive at their training sessions a little earlier than the scheduled time. And this doesn’t really surprise him, the fact that the two are now seeking to spend more time with each other.

Few things can bring people together in the same way as a stressful, high-stakes mission. Shared experiences are often quite effective at promoting a bond. Furthermore, the danger of the assignment can incite acts of valor, similar to how Kakashi had torn Rin away from her captor and sustained an injury to his shoulder in the process.

This development is likely furthered by the fact that Rin has always shown interest in Kakashi, something that had irked Obito to no end in his previous timeline. And what had frustrated him the most back then was that it wasn’t for no good reason. Kakashi was a prodigy, the most talented shinobi of their generation and possibly even the one before.

To everyone else, it seemed as though there was nothing that Kakashi couldn’t do.

But Obito thinks that Rin might’ve seen beyond that and noticed a quiet sorrow in Kakashi that drew her towards him. She had always been a healer in a way that went beyond her role as a medical nin, and Obito suspects that’s part of why Rin stuck so closely by his side when they were children.

She had likely seen the same kind of sadness in him, the desperate hopes of an overlooked boy begging for acknowledgment.

Such kindness is rare among individuals, and even more so in shinobi. And the fact that Rin had been able to retain her compassion throughout the war is a testament to her strength of character. Obito is hardly surprised that Kakashi is beginning to recognize this as well.

As soon as Obito realized that Rin and Kakashi were beginning to meet up early, he had attempted to delay his own arrival to the training ground so as to give the two a sufficient amount of time together. But despite these measures, it appears as though he’s miscalculated for today. And not wanting to intrude, Obito retreats back into the trees as quietly as he can manage.

The two of them are sitting back to back in the middle of the clearing now, Rin reading her medical texts while Kakashi sharpens his set of kunai. They work in silence for the most part, but every now and then Rin will pass the book over to Kakashi and ask him to quiz her on a section.

Ever since the hospital staff had praised her work on Kakashi’s shoulder wound, Rin has doubled the amount of time she spends studying. The medics had described her technique as “near expert,” mentioning it was likely that Rin could skip past the trainee role and into a more advanced position once it came time for her to join.

If only they knew that Rin had successfully transplanted an eye, a newly active Sharingan no less, while deep within enemy territory. Obito assumes that the dōjutsu had functioned properly considering that Kakashi had appeared to be using it just before his death. Either way, the hospital would’ve been clamoring for her to enter their ranks at this very moment.

The sound of measured footsteps catches Obito’s attention, and he turns to see Minato-sensei approaching in his direction.

“Good morning, Obito,” Sensei greets him. “What are you-?”

But he lowers his voice upon catching sight of Rin and Kakashi up ahead, dropping his voice to a pitch that won’t carry so easily through the trees.

Minato-sensei smiles slightly as he observes the two of them. “As a sensei, I’m always glad to see my students growing closer,” he comments, almost matter-of-factly.

But he unexpectedly turns his attention back to Obito, his eyes growing more serious. “What about you though?”

It must appear somewhat concerning to Sensei, Obito realizes, to see two of students bonding while the third skulks just out of sight.

“Rin’s been my friend for a long time. I’m happy to see her happy,” Obito answers and his response is nothing but the truth. “And I think it’s good for Kakashi to have more friends,” he adds hurriedly.

The expression on Minato-sensei’s face doesn’t waver and neither does his serious tone. “I’m glad to hear that you’re so thoughtful, but it doesn’t mean that you have to hold yourself back. You can still be with them as well.”

Obito shrugs noncommittedly, still watching his teammates.

However, Sensei isn’t finished with the topic just yet. “Sometimes,” he declares, fixing Obito with a searching gaze, “I get the impression that you’ve put all your concern towards them and left nothing for yourself.”

Obito allows a moment of silence to pass before he opens his mouth, intending to respond like he usually does with something vague and evasive.

“Would you believe me if I said I’m trying to make up for the things I haven’t done?” The words slip out of their own accord, and Obito freezes in place upon realizing what he’s just divulged.

_He’s said too much._

But even as Obito begins to sweat in trepidation, Minato-sensei carries on without a sign of alarm.

“What do you mean by that?” he asks, frowning slightly in confusion. “Did you promise to do something for them?”

Obito sighs, partly out of relief and partly because there’s no way he can back out of this now. 

“No, no, it’s not that,” he mumbles, looking down at the ground and wringing his hands in his nervousness. 

He takes a deep breath, attempting to arrange his words to create an answer that will appease Sensei without giving away too much.

“I’ve realized that I’m incredibly selfish,” Obito admits. “I’m so worried that I’m going to fail them. I’m almost certain that one day I’m going to let them down.”

He didn’t think it would be this difficult to vocalize his worries, but it feels like he’s somehow given them more weight by saying it out loud. And as preoccupied as he is, Obito very nearly jumps out of his skin upon feeling Minato-sensei’s hand rest lightly upon his shoulder.

“Just let me say this,” Sensei advises, giving Obito’s shoulder an encouraging squeeze. “It’s okay to be invested in their well-being, but don’t overlook your own. And I know that it may not be something that you want to do, but remember that there are always people that you can talk to.”

“You’re a good person, Obito. I don’t think you need to worry,” Minato-sensei says warmly, and Obito’s heart feels as if it’s about to crack in two.

Sensei smiles at him, oblivious to the guilt that’s churning away in Obito’s stomach. He claps him on the back before entering the clearing, calling out to Kakashi and Rin as he does so.

 _If only you knew Sensei,_ Obito thinks dejectedly as he stands there alone in the shadows of the forest.

_You wouldn’t be nearly this kind._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obito’s guilt is really coloring his perception of his teammates. Can you tell?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new mission puts Team Minato to the test.

Now that Kakashi, Rin, and Obito have proven that they can handle vital missions on their own, it’s only natural for Konoha to send them on more.

“The three of you did so well after we split up,” Minato-sensei had said to them during their first training session together after Kannabi Bridge. “Because of that, they’re strongly in favor of doing it again in order to make the best use of our manpower.”

Even though he had expected that to be the case, Obito’s stomach still gives an unpleasant lurch. It just seemed that things had a tendency to go awry when Sensei wasn’t present.

“There aren’t any concrete plans yet, but I just wanted to let you all know in advance so that we can prepare.”

And prepare they do.

Because coordinating as a unit of three instead of four calls for slightly different strategies and tactics than they’re accustomed to. Without the guarantee of Minato-sensei’s presence, certain risks they might’ve taken before are no longer acceptable. Obito, Rin, and Kakashi will be relying on each other more than ever, and that requires them to adopt additional defensive maneuvers and new formations so that they can cover each other.

Given the near misses they experienced on the way to Kannabi Bridge, they all agreed that it was best to have all hands at the ready when engaging with enemies.

While Rin herself had been quite insistent on assuming a more active role in combat situations, none of them could deny how crucial it was for a team’s medic to remain well enough to heal at a moment’s notice. The natural compromise was to have Rin experiment with a variety of ranged weapons that would allow her to fight while still remaining well out of the enemy’s reach.

And after several weeks of training, Rin’s mission supplies have expanded to include smoke bombs, wire, and exploding tags in addition to her usual medical kit.

These adjustments are all very helpful, but Obito honestly wonders why they hadn’t taken the time to do this before their mission to Kannabi Bridge. They might’ve had less trouble fending off the Iwa nin if that was the case.

Either way, their latest assignment sends them to the very southeastern region of the Land of Fire. Ever since Iwa’s retreat in Kusagakure, Konoha has been receiving reports of Kiri nin skirting around the border that separates the Land of Fire from the Land of Water. Team Minato has been charged with scoping out the area, assessing the skill of the enemy shinobi they encounter, and determining if there are reinforcements nearby.

The three of them won’t have to set foot anywhere near Kiri, but the assignment still takes them far too close to the islands for Obito’s liking. It may be improbable, but it’s quite possible for them to end up in Kiri anyway if things were to go terribly wrong.

On the surface, however, the mission appears to be fairly straightforward, nowhere near as stringent as their previous one. Secrecy isn’t essential for this assignment, but Team Minato has been advised to keep a low profile and to avoid having witnesses. While they don’t bother with disguises, they do leave behind their forehead protectors and any articles that could link them back to Konoha.

Once at the border, the three find themselves primarily facing lower level shinobi, most likely Kiri’s idea of cannon fodder. None of them are anything like the Anbu that were tailing Kakashi and Rin during their last mission.

In fact, their most competent opponents yet were two enterprising chūnin that had tried their hand at a surprise attack. However, the duo’s efforts were for naught as they soon learned that metal wire was an excellent conductor of both electricity and extreme heat.

To many, foes like these might’ve felt like a letdown, especially when considering the expertise of the Iwa nin they fought back in Kusagakure. Obito, in contrast, is almost at ease from it all.

While none of their opponents were able to give them much trouble individually, facing such a large number of them over the course of a week means that the members of Team Minato are far from fresh. Kakashi has been limping for the past hour, Obito’s ribs ache with any sudden movement, and Rin is noticeably exhausted from having to heal both of them.

Thankfully, they’ve completed their objective by then, ascertaining that Kiri has yet to send its more powerful shinobi to the border. It’s rather convenient timing as none of them are in shape for or in the mood to do much more.

“This is taking forever,” Obito complains as the three make their way back to Konoha. “Are we sure this is the right way?” He knows that he shouldn’t be so immature considering that he was an adult in his previous world, but his feet are beginning to hurt as well.

Rin’s response once again proves that she possesses a near-supernatural level of patience. “We’re heading in the right direction. See, there’s the dam,” she assures him, pointing up ahead. “You can’t miss it.”

The dam in question is an impressively large one that the three of them had earlier used to cross the valley river. They had walked along the very top of the barrier, only for three Kiri nin to emerge from the water at around the halfway point.

Obito, who was leading at the time, forced the first shinobi off the ledge with a fire jutsu aimed directly at his face. The second, wrapped in wire courtesy of Rin, was shoved over the side by Kakashi while Obito had tussled with the last one. A few moments later, Obito was holding his opponent’s head underwater while the first Kiri nin attempted to climb back up the wall of the dam. Kakashi had put an end to that with a solid kick to the head.

The three are walking back alongside the river, heading up the valley to the top of the dam when it starts.

It happens out of nowhere.

The world seems to shudder, causing all three of them to stumble. As Obito struggles to remain upright, he watches in fascination as the trees around them begin to sway and bend in a bizarre fashion. Rocks are breaking away from the sides of the valley and the ground itself feels as though it’s rolling and undulating under his feet.

This must be an earthquake, Obito realizes, a completely natural one that has nothing to do with a jutsu.

Kakashi, predictably, takes almost no time to recover his footing. “Is everyone alright?” he asks as the shaking subsides.

But before Rin or Obito can answer, they’re distracted by the ominous sounds of a slow creak and rumbling up ahead. All three of them turn as cracks begin to form on the surface of the dam wall. They watch in trepidation as a sizable piece of the barrier slowly chips away, leaving a gaping hole in the stone.

And from it expels a torrent of water.

It only takes them a moment to realize what this means. They’re close enough that the riverbank they’re standing on will be underwater should the entire wall break apart. And with the state that they’re in now, they’ll be swept away in seconds.

More cracks begin to spiderweb across the stone wall, and it becomes clear that the question is not if it collapses but _when_. Their only option now is to get out of its way. 

And to do that, they’ll have to go up. 

“We have to get out of here,” Kakashi declares, breaking the stunned silence that had settled over them. “Above the dam itself. We’ll have to climb,” he says as he gestures towards the jagged cliff face to their left.

“Wait, we should use a rope,” Rin speaks up, her face pinched in worry. “That rock doesn’t look very stable, and I think the earthquake might’ve made it worse.” 

And although time is of the essence here, Obito is strongly inclined to agree. None of them are strangers to climbing, whether that be scaling trees with the aid of chakra or clambering up mountains with nothing but brute strength. However, the situation here is a highly precarious and volatile one.

Together they manage to fashion a grappling hook of sorts with rope and a kunai, wrapping the end of it around a small outcropping of rock jutting out from the very top of the ledge. Obito can only hope that both the rope and its anchor holds up under their combined weight. 

As the lightest, Rin goes up first. She winds the rope through the straps of her pack and hands the end to Obito. While she makes her way up the cliff face, Obito threads the rope through one of the loops on his belt and begins to climb after her. Lastly, Kakashi wraps the end of the rope around the leather straps on his shoulders before he follows the two up.

These are all rather crude measures, but they’ll hopefully prevent them from crashing down to the earth if the rock happens to give way. The climb is a painstaking one as none of them are particularly keen to put too much pressure on either the cliff face or the rope. 

It very quickly becomes apparent that their precautions were wise ones. 

Obito’s heart races as the chunk of rock his feet were affixed to suddenly splinters, leaving him suspended by only the rope clutched between his hands. Underneath him, Kakashi is forced to duck out of the way to avoid getting clobbered on the head by the rubble. 

_Don’t think about falling rocks._

Obito tells himself this as he climbs, repeating it like a mantra.

_Don’t think about what happened the last time stone started to crumble around them._

The world lurches once more, and the three of them nearly go flying as the rope swings wildly.

Kakashi’s feet are only a few feet above the rising water now, and Obito tries to scramble even higher on the rope to give him more room. As he does so, he can help but notice that more and more pieces of the dam are crumbling away by the second. The water pouring out is darker now, no doubt colored by the sediment that was building up on the river floor.

He looks down to check on Kakashi who’s also studying the dam intently, but Obito’s heart nearly stops upon seeing the look in his teammate’s eyes 

Kakashi looks up at him, his gaze somber as can be. “There’s no time,” he declares just as a massive slab of stone breaks free of the dam with a deafening crack. 

“What are you-!” Obito shouts as the terrible realization of what Kakashi is about to do dawns on him.

“Sorry.”

That’s all Kakashi says as he raises a kunai in his right hand. And with one fluid slash, he severs the rope connecting him to his teammates. 

Obito can hear himself and Rin start to scream as he falls away from them, the sound of the rushing water almost drowning out their voices. 

But Kakashi has already vanished underneath the deluge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obito focused so much on saving his teammates, he never considered the possibility that they themselves might have other ideas.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obito prays that it’s not too late.

Obito’s amazed that he’s able to climb with how badly his hands are shaking. Up above him, Rin sounds as though she’s on the verge of tears.

The surge that had swept Kakashi away was enormous, soaking Obito to his shins within seconds.

_He just doesn’t understand._

Yes, the situation was rather urgent, but there was no reason for the three of them to _not_ make it up in time.

Why would Kakashi have done that?

However, another rumble reminds Obito and Rin that they can’t afford to dwell on this at the present. Rin scurries upwards and manages to hoist herself over, even as the water crashes below them and rocks rain down from above. And once on solid ground, she reaches down to help Obito.

He, on the other hand, barely manages to reach the top of the cliff before it’s too late. By the time Obito finally heaves himself over the ledge, the churning water has risen to his thighs and feels as though it’s trying to suck him in. Rin has to wrench him up using all of her weight as leverage.

Obito collapses onto the hard surface and feels the earth shudder for the third time that day. Rin, fortunately, has the presence of mind to cut themselves free of the rope as the aftershock sends another barrage of rocks, including the one they had used as an anchor, plunging into the raging river.

The two of them lie there exhausted, sprawled on the rocky surface and panting for air. But once their breaths begin to slow, they have no choice but to confront the reality of what has just happened. Rin and Obito look at each other in silence, identical expressions of dread painting their faces.

“Kakashi…” Rin finally speaks up, her voice wavering as she pushes herself to her feet. “Is he…?”

Her voice trails off, but there’s no mystery as to what she had been about to say next.

Obito exhales slowly, attempting to calm his frayed nerves, but he can still feel his hands shake and clench into fists.

“No one’s dead until you find a body!” he very nearly shouts, causing Rin to flinch at his tactless phrasing of the matter.

_He would know._

He looks to Rin and opens his mouth to apologize for his abrupt words, but she cuts him off before he can actually say anything.

“You’re right,” Rin agrees, her features hardening in determination. “Let’s go find him.”

By now, the walls of the dam are no more, and the river itself is almost unrecognizable from the copious amounts of rubble and stray branches carried along by its currents. The water level has decreased dramatically as well and runs a murky brown in contrast to the dark blue from before.

Neither Obito or Rin are sensors, so they resign themselves to combing through the surrounding area in painstaking fashion. And there is no Sharingan either, no dōjutsu that can pinpoint chakra, no way to know if Kakashi has sunken down to the riverbed.

They make their way steadily downstream, scanning the riverbanks, inspecting beneath the stone fragments that have washed ashore, and prodding the bottom of the river with broken branches as they walk.

The two of them move slowly in the name of both thoroughness and fatigue. They were already feeling worn-out before and are hardly any better off now. The panic surrounding the earthquake had provided them with a brief boost of adrenaline, but that has long since faded, leaving them once again depleted.

Obito’s feet squelch from all the sediment deposited onto the riverbank, and he desperately tries to prevent himself from ruminating over what they might find. Naturally, his efforts are in vain.

 _How can we even be sure that we’ll find him,_ Obito thinks to himself, despondently dragging the tree branch through the opaque waters.

Where does this river even lead? To a lake? To the ocean?

Obito sneaks a glance at Rin searching away on the other side of the river, and her steely expression is in complete contrast to the anxiety that’s eating away at him.

 _Could Kakashi eventually be washed out to sea?_ He wonders this as he trudges forward along the river’s edge. Obito knows very little about the ocean currents, but would it be possible for the tides to take him all the way to Kiri?

Or would he have drowned long before that could happen?

The water begins to run a little clearer around a hundred yards downstream, so Rin and Obito cast aside the tree branches in favor of peering into the river itself. It’s still a little cloudy, but they should be able to discern any large objects below the river’s surface.

That is if there’s anything actually there.

They do find Kakashi’s pack of supplies, but it’s a complete and utter accident. In fact, Obito nearly trips over it. He had assumed that the small, earth-colored lump in front of him was just another stone until his foot was caught between the bag’s straps. But once the item is in his hands, it only takes him a second to identify it.

“Rin,” he calls out, holding up the pack for her to see.

She nods solemnly in response, and the two of them resume their search. Both of them know that this discovery is neither a cause for celebration nor anguish. This might mean that the current had carried Kakashi further along. However, there’s always the possibility that they’ve already walked past him.

Obito doesn’t know how long they’ve been looking now, but it feels like an eternity. However, the sky tells a different story. It was only late afternoon when the dam broke, and while the sun is markedly lower now, it doesn’t appear to have moved much since then.

But the time hardly matters anyway. Obito knows that he and Rin won’t rest until they find their teammate, even if they’re still at this come next morning. He’s in the middle of telling himself that he personally won’t quit until he physically keels over when he’s abruptly jolted out of his reverie.

“Look! Over there!”

Rin, of course, is the one who first spots Kakashi because it seems that Obito’s eyes are truly useless without the aid of the Sharingan. She points once before leaping over to Obito’s side of the river, rushing towards a cluster of rocks around fifty feet ahead of them.

Obito follows her, and he can just begin to make out the shape of a human figure slumped over on the riverbank, silver hair glinting dully in the light of the setting sun.

 _Please let him be okay,_ Obito prays as he hurries to keep pace with Rin. However, he’s forced to slow down after only a few seconds as his ribs once again begin to twinge with pain.

Rin, in contrast, seems to experience none of the tiredness she had felt earlier. Obito watches nervously as she crouches over Kakashi’s motionless form. Kakashi hasn’t moved one bit and is still half-submerged in the river, but Rin’s lack of distress suggests that he’s at the very least alive.

With strength that Obito wasn’t aware she possessed, Rin seizes Kakashi by the back of his shirt and drags him out of the water and onto dry land.

Much to Obito’s relief, Kakashi stirs almost immediately. He splutters slightly as Rin maneuvers him so that he’s lying on his side, and she quickly pulls down Kakashi’s mask for him so he can breathe more easily. Obito, who has now caught up to them, turns away as he normally does whenever his teammate’s face is exposed.

He hears Kakashi let out a series of hacking coughs as Rin claps him on the back. This only goes on for a few minutes before Rin helps him sit back up and pull his mask back into place.

Obito turns and is taken aback upon finally laying eyes on his teammate. Kakashi is hunched over and weary-looking, his forearms resting on his knees. He’s sopping wet and streaked liberally with mud, but he doesn’t otherwise seem to be too worse for wear.

Rin appears to have arrived at a similar conclusion. But as she confirms that Kakashi bears no grievous injuries, her expression of relief slowly shifts into something much sharper.

“What were you thinking back there?” Rin’s voice is indignant, every syllable ringing with disapproval.

This is a question that Obito would like answered as well, and the two of them regard Kakashi with expectant gazes.

“It was my leg,” Kakashi answers simply, brushing the waterlogged hair from his face.

Obito blinks in confusion and a quick glance in Rin’s direction suggests that she doesn’t understand either. But once he thinks back to earlier that day, it only takes him a second to remember that Kakashi’s leg had been bothering him since the early afternoon.

He had twisted his knee while grappling with a Kiri nin and was limping before the earthquake had taken them by surprise. And while the injury had been a relatively mild one under Rin’s ministrations, their constant travel had aggravated it slightly.

“By the time we were halfway up the rope, it was already starting to buckle under my weight,” Kakashi explains as he sees the realization dawning on Obito’s and Rin’s faces. “I wasn’t making it up there in time,” he insists, unwavering even in his exhaustion. “And once the water caught me, the rope would’ve dragged the two of you in as well.”

Obito can feel the disbelief building up in his chest. “So you decided to fling yourself into the river then?” he blurts out incredulously.

It’s honestly a miracle that Kakashi isn’t dead. He could’ve been crushed by debris or pinned underwater by wreckage and left to suffocate. And now that Obito thinks about it, he’s not entirely sure how Kakashi _didn’t_ drown.

“I had a plan,” Kakashi argues, speaking a little more cautiously now due to their unimpressed expressions. Even still, his attitude is far too nonchalant given the situation.

“And what exactly was that?” Rin asks coolly.

Obito doesn’t think he’s ever seen Rin so testy. Kakashi seems to recognize the rarity of this as well given how quick he is to answer.

“A wind jutsu,” he clarifies. “It’s one that creates a small shield of air around you. The technique was something I had practiced before, and I was reasonably certain that I could perform it underwater.”

Rin raises her eyebrows. “That was your strategy? Throw yourself into the water and hope that you would still be able to breathe?”

“There was too much mud flowing through the river for a water jutsu to be practical,” Kakashi points out, sitting up a little straighter. “And I knew that kicking around and trying to find the surface wasn’t going to do me much good with my leg and how fast the current was moving.”

Even though he still looks as bedraggled as ever, Kakashi’s attempts to defend his reasoning seem to have energized him ever so slightly.

“I held my breath and let the river carry me downstream. Then I used the wind jutsu to create this-” Kakashi frowns as if he’s not sure how exactly to describe it.

“An air bubble?” Obito suggests.

“Not exactly a bubble,” Kakashi admits, “but it was enough air so that I didn’t drown.”

He chances a look at Rin and seems to immediately regret it, deciding instead to continue with his account. “Eventually, the water level dropped, and I ended up on the riverbank where the two of you found me."

“And that’s it?” Rin prompts with a skeptical look in her eye.

“I did inhale a little water towards the end though,” he confesses.

Obito takes that to mean that Kakashi had blacked out shortly before washing ashore, and Rin’s terse expression suggests that she’s drawn the same conclusion.

“I’m incredibly happy that you’re okay, Kakashi,” Rin begins, her face softening slightly as she looks down at him. “But my job is to make sure that everyone on the team makes it out alive. I hope you know why I’m not thrilled about what you just did.”

Kakashi’s eyes have an unusual quality to them, and he seems to be unwilling to look up and meet Rin’s.

“I’m sorry.”

After all that’s happened, it’s safe to say that none of them are inclined to travel much further. And seeing as the ordeal has added at least another day to their projected travel time, Team Minato elects instead to turn in for the night.

But as they begin to make camp, Obito finds himself somewhat discomfited by Kakashi’s odd demeanor. Ever since Rin pulled him from the river, he’s been significantly more open and inclined to talk. Obito’s initially concerned that Kakashi has sustained a concussion, but Rin seems fairly certain that he hasn’t suffered any head injuries.

“He’s just extremely tired and low on chakra,” she explains quietly as Kakashi attempts to dry himself off to the side. “Don’t worry, he’ll be fine after some rest. I’ll also be able to heal his leg properly tomorrow.”

Even so, nothing about the past few hours has sat well with Obito. He doesn’t know what he dislikes more: the idea of Kakashi cutting himself free on an impulse to save his teammates or the idea that Kakashi had engineered a scenario in which he would be able to take on all the risk.

 _That’s what I’m here for,_ Obito wants to say. He’s lived an entire lifetime before this and spent that time carrying out the most despicable and reprehensible of deeds. Obito is supposed to assume the burdens of everyone else, not to have others sacrifice themselves for his sake.

As for the idea that Kakashi would take that into his own hands…

Well, Obito doesn’t like that one bit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If only Obito knew just how much trouble Kakashi is capable of getting himself into.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After returning to Konoha, it’s time to ruminate on the events of the last mission.

Despite the assorted chaos of their return journey, Team Minato’s mission is technically considered a success. After all, the three of them had patrolled the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water and returned with information regarding the enemy shinobi they encountered.

That isn’t to say that Minato-sensei isn’t highly concerned about the various hazards his students had experienced along the way. In fact, he orders Kakashi to take a week off from training after learning of the reckless behavior he exhibited.

Kakashi’s initial lack of protest was a testament to how exhausted he had been.

The remainder of Team Minato’s trek back to the village was a long but mercifully uneventful one. Even after a full night of rest, the three of them were still rather tired from the hectic experience from the previous day. Before they set off, Rin had healed Kakashi’s injured leg for a second time, even wrapping it up for good measure.

While the pace they adopted was unquestionably slow, they still managed to reach Konoha before nightfall.

But even after they depart for their respective homes, Obito can’t help but mull over the many implications of Kakashi’s actions.

Before the earthquake, Obito had felt almost at ease. Kakashi hadn’t used the Chidori once over the course of the entire assignment, despite the large number of enemies they fought. Obito was elated by this development, assuming that Kakashi had listened to his words and recognized the inherent risks of the technique.

But what good does an adjustment like that do if Kakashi decides to throw himself into dangerous situations anyway?

Who could’ve guessed that Kakashi would have such a penchant for self-sacrifice?

The Obito from his previous world certainly wouldn’t have believed it. Kakashi had always been extremely confident back then, frequently giving off the impression that he didn’t need the help of others. He often believed that he could accomplish mission objectives all on his own and would take the opportunity to do so whenever it was available.

This all plus Kakashi’s natural aloofness had made him come across as someone who was capable of casting his allies aside without a second thought.

Then Obito had yelled at him in Kusagakure, and Kakashi had suddenly seemed like a different person. He remembers the surreal feeling of watching Kakashi come to his defense, ultimately sacrificing his left eye in order to protect Obito from the Iwa nin.

Of course, it was far more complicated than an abrupt change of heart. Kakashi had likely forbidden himself from caring for his teammates, staunchly refusing to grow attached to him and Rin. After all, those very same ideas of loyalty had contributed to his own father’s downfall. But when push came to shove, Kakashi chose his teammates over the mission.

Still, Obito would’ve never imagined that Kakashi was the kind of person who would so readily disregard his own life and safety.

But as he quietly shuts the bedroom door behind him, Obito realizes that the signs might have been there all along. Maybe Kakashi’s inclination to work alone wasn’t solely a matter of pride. Maybe it was also his way of keeping his allies away from danger.

“Is that why you created the Chidori then?” Obito asks out loud, addressing the question to his empty room.

Because if that was indeed Kakashi’s motivation, he couldn’t have picked a better technique.

The Chidori is a curious jutsu in that it mandates a charging attack, one that’s both deafening and visually arresting. It’s nearly impossible to look anywhere else when it’s been activated. What more, Obito can’t help but notice that the limitations surrounding its use are oddly specific.

While Kakashi could strike with overwhelming speed and force, he lacked awareness of his immediate surroundings. Such a technique would be dangerous to wield if his teammates also happened to be scattered amongst his opponents. Nevertheless, Obito could see how this inherent drawback might appeal to Kakashi’s interests. If friendly fire is a potential hazard, then it’s only reasonable to ensure that your allies are clear of the field, well away from harm.

One way or another, Kakashi has created a jutsu that places him alone in the line of fire while effectively drawing all of the enemy’s focus onto himself. This could all be a coincidence, but Obito doesn’t quite believe that’s the case here. Kakashi is a genius after all, and he’s always been very deliberate in his actions.

“So what can I do?” Obito mutters in frustration, slightly louder than before.

Thankfully, he doesn’t have to worry about his grandmother overhearing him. While the old floorboards in his home tend to amplify the sounds of footsteps, Obito’s discovered that the walls themselves are more than thick enough to muffle quiet voices. This means that he can speak freely whenever the door is closed whether that be voicing questions or venting frustrations.

The downside, however, is that the ceiling has never managed to provide him with a satisfactory response.

In this particular instance, the answer is one that has been lurking in the back of his mind for quite some time now.

The Sharingan with its various powers and applications could be the difference between his teammates living and dying. It could mean blocking the trajectory of a kunai that’s about to hit Rin or subduing hidden enemies before they can ambush Kakashi. It could mean pulling them out of the way of a killing blow. 

That only scratches the surface of what he would be able to do. The Mangekyō, as useful as it would be to his purpose, is not an option though. Obtaining it is completely out of the question. Kamui could be the ultimate failsafe, but its price is not one that Obito can pay.

The first stage of the Sharingan is something that Obito _should_ be able to manage though. And yet he’s still hesitant to have even that. Obito remembers transforming into a different person in that cave. He remembers how much easier it was to give in to the obsession once the visions became a permanent fixture in his brain.

Obito wants to forget. He wants to keep his mind clear. He wants to believe that the eyes themselves are cursed, that they were the reason he succumbed to Madara’s poisonous words so easily. Otherwise, it would mean that the rot was inside him all along and that there truly is no hope for him or for this world.

So he’ll carry on without the Sharingan and pray that it’s enough.

Obito sighs, laying back in his bed and staring up at the now darkening ceiling.

Perhaps this is the coward’s way.

Perhaps he’ll come to regret this.

________________________

As it turns out, it had taken less than three days for Kakashi to grow aggravated with his mandated rest period. Once Sensei had allowed him to resume, he had predictably intensified his conditioning to the point where Obito worried that Kakashi would injure himself. Rin, thankfully, had charged herself with overseeing his training and was able to keep him more or less in check.

Despite this, Obito personally believes that Kakashi could still benefit from a little more moderation. Just a few days ago, he had arrived at the training ground to find Kakashi already there and doing pushups while Rin stood on his back and threw kunai at the nearby trees.

Obito had also seemed to be the only one who considered this form of exercise to be a bit excessive. Minato-sensei even complimented Rin and Kakashi for employing such a multipurpose workout.

Granted, it had been a while since all four members of Team Minato were able to train together, and Sensei may have simply been in a better mood because of that. While Obito, Rin, and Kakashi were monitoring the situation at the border, Minato-sensei had spent the past few weeks in Kumo where he clashed with some of the most formidable shinobi the enemy village had to offer.

“Iwa is currently on its last legs,” Sensei explained to them. “The fighting has died down dramatically in Kusagakure, but they’ll probably hold out to see if any of the other villages will be able to stop Konoha’s momentum. Either way, I think that Iwa will attempt to negotiate a ceasefire before long.”

Obito had nodded at that, noting that this appeared consistent with what he recalls from his previous world. Between those scattered memories and Minato-sensei’s information, he’s managed to piece together a timeline of sorts delineating the various stages of the war.

Suna is currently up in arms, but Obito understands that the battles remain confined to the Land of Wind. While the fighting there looks to be rather brutal, it’s unlikely that Suna will ever be able to scrounge up enough shinobi for an invasion. There have also been a few more skirmishes between teams of Kiri and Konoha nin since Team Minato’s last mission to the border. And while those scuffles were small, they had resulted in several casualties on both sides.

“I know the three of you think that you didn’t find much on your last mission, but your report on Kiri’s forces is valuable information.” Minato-sensei had mentioned this to them just a few days ago. “The fact that they’re still keeping most of their powerful shinobi within the country means that they’re almost certainly plotting something.”

Their plan is no mystery to Obito, however.

He knows that Kiri isn’t bothering with the border because they plan to take the fight directly to Konoha. They intend to unleash a tailed beast within the village itself. What Obito doesn’t know is whether or not Kiri had targeted Kakashi and Rin specifically. It is possible that the two were simply the first Konoha shinobi that the Kiri nin encountered that day.

And if that’s the case, it’s possible that Obito has little to fear.

When Obito reaches the training ground today, he finds that only Kakashi and Rin are there. This is no surprise, however, as Minato-sensei informed them that he would be heading out that morning for the Land of Rivers in order to provide support for the Konoha teams stationed there.

As he approaches, Rin looks up from the pack she’s organizing to smile at him while Kakashi gives Obito a casual nod.

“Our next assignment,” Kakashi calls out to him, walking over to hand him the mission scroll.

Obito takes the scroll from him and unfurls it in trepidation, hoping that they won’t have to leave the country for this one. He scans the first few lines, only for his heart to stop as soon as his brain begins to process the words written there.

Team Minato has been assigned a reconnaissance mission directly into the heart of Kiri.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obito is fairly certain that analyzing Kakashi is a worthwhile endeavor when he himself is an absolute mess. And it's an assignment to Kiri this time, but things certainly won’t play out the way Obito is expecting.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obito spends the entire time on edge.

If Obito didn’t know better, the mission itself would hardly be a cause for alarm. The assignment is well within their capabilities as a team, and Obito would even venture to say that Team Minato possesses an advantage that other units could never hope to have.

After all, he’s probably more familiar with Kiri than any Konoha shinobi has a right to be. Obito knows those narrow stone streets, the cool damp breezes that filter through the gray circular buildings, and the thick mist that clings to every available surface.

He had practically ruled the village himself, back when the Fourth Mizukage was firmly under his command.

But Obito can’t allow himself to be lulled into a false sense of security. He has no illusions as to what will happen on this mission.

_This is it. It has to be it._

What other mission could it be, if not this one?

The timing of it matches up, and the assignment parameters align with Obito’s recollections. The three of them have been instructed to infiltrate the village in order to gather information on Kiri’s current state of affairs and report on their plan of action.

Kiri has kept an unusually low profile throughout the conflict thus far, to the point where Konoha has grown suspicious of their intentions. Such passive behavior feels out of character for a village infamous for its brutality and belligerence. So the natural conclusion is that Kiri must have a more complex scheme in mind.

If this is the same mission as before, it’s likely that Kakashi and Rin were discovered back in the previous timeline. The two of them were running before, chased by a relentless team of Kiri Anbu. Obito himself was only able to catch a glimpse of them before it all went to hell.

In one single moment, the Three Tails had broken free of Rin, gored Kakashi with its spikes, and charged at the Kiri nin. Obito was forced to flee alongside the Anbu in the confusion, unsure as to what had become of his teammates.

And when he was finally able to circle back, Obito returned to find them lying there on the cold, blood-drenched stone.

It was only later that he learned the details of Kiri’s devious plot, of how they captured Rin and used an unstable seal to turn her into a timed explosive. The Anbu were, in fact, herding Kakashi and Rin away so that the Three Tails would level Konoha upon their return.

Looking back, Obito thinks that a part of him was never able to forgive Kiri for their ploy. He had claimed that everyone left in the world was meaningless to him. He insisted that there was nothing more in the physical world to care for once his teammates were no more. But upon closer examination, Obito’s subsequent actions had carried a sense of vindictiveness that lies in complete contrast to the indifference he had so ardently professed.

While Obito spared no one in his selfish, single-minded quest, he can’t deny that he was unquestionably and exceptionally vicious to Kiri in particular. Obito had twisted an already ruthless nation until blood ran through the streets. No other village was subjected to this sort of treatment or even this level of interference in their personal affairs.

Had that been Obito’s way of punishing Kiri for the part they had played in his teammate’s deaths? Or was it simply a matter of convenience?

As a jinchūriki, the Mizukage, by definition, was vulnerable to the Sharingan. Taking control of the village was the obvious option then, especially when Obito’s ability to meddle was sure to be limited elsewhere.

But Obito had also haunted the clearing where Kakashi and Rin had died, killing the Kiri nin who sought to retrieve their bodies and later the ones who came to search for their missing comrades. He had done this for months, long after Minato-sensei had arrived to take them home.

He can’t deny that it certainly appears that way, that he had funneled his feelings of rage and resentment into Kiri.

Now, Obito is far too weary to feel any of that anymore. The only thing he wants is for his teammates to live through this. He won’t allow Rin to become a pawn or for Kakashi to become collateral damage.

Konoha has not given Team Minato a definite time frame in which to complete their objective, nor have they required them to employ any specific methods in pursuit of their goal. Certain strategies and tactics are deemed more advisable than others, but the three of them have been granted the liberty to choose as the circumstances are highly variable and subject to change

Obito personally doesn’t care about what approach they utilize, as long as it doesn’t call for unnecessary risks.

In the end, Team Minato decides to infiltrate Kiri by disguising themselves as the village’s own shinobi. From there, they’ll intercept messages, pry their way into village records, and eavesdrop on any relevant conversations as soon as they're safely inside. And with that settled, the three travel to the border in order to find a set of Kiri nin that they can henge into.

They spend a day and a half searching before finally stumbling across a suitable bunch only two miles into the Land of Water. The three Kiri shinobi they select look to be a few years older than they are, all with bland features and unmemorable coloring. And most importantly, none of them had noticed Team Minato’s ambush until it was far too late.

While Kakashi hides the bodies with an earth jutsu, Rin and Obito riffle through the Kiri nin’s possessions in order to gather clues about the village and to get a sense of who the shinobi were. Once the evidence is cleared away, the three of them adorn themselves in the unfamiliar uniforms and set off for Kiri, now bearing nondescript faces and the symbol of their enemy.

Their altered appearances do take some getting used to, however.

It’s odd looking in Rin’s direction and seeing a pale face with dirty blond hair instead of her usual purple markings and dark brown hair. It feels bizarre to address Kakashi and be met with mousy brown hair and an entire face. As for Obito, he still has black hair, but it’s shaved close to his skull. He’s also far lankier in this disguise and it takes him an entire afternoon before he can adequately coordinate his limbs.

Although, that hardly matters anyway. As soon as the three of them are inside the village, they’ll don different faces so that they won’t be recognized by anybody who personally knew the Kiri nin they ambushed.

Six days into their mission, the disguised Team Minato arrives at the entrance of Kiri where they are waved through without a second glance. Nonetheless, Obito is terrified that someone will see through their henges at any given moment.

For this reason, they spend an entire day skirting around in the shadows, keeping an eye out for any sensors that could identify them as imposters. But no alarm of any kind is raised. If Kiri is home to any powerful sensors, they must have been sent out into the battlefield.

Of course, that does little to put Obito at ease as they pickpocket messengers and search for a way into Kiri’s confidential records. He spends the next few days constantly arguing against splitting up, much to Kakashi’s and Rin’s bewilderment. Obito can’t help himself, even though he knows that they would likely finish the mission quicker that way.

If he hadn't proved to be so adept at navigating the village, Obito is certain that his teammates would’ve grown exasperated with him ages ago.

His prior knowledge of Kiri has come in handy, and he’s managed to stave off suspicion by taking wrong turns every once in a while and insisting that this sudden burst of competence is all down to luck. Rin and Kakashi don’t appear skeptical of his claims, and if they are, they don’t consider it to be something worth interrogating him over.

However, it’s also possible that the two of them are taking pity on Obito due to his anxiety-ridden state. Because Obito should really be better at this. He should be able to remain composed. But each time his teammates disappear from his line of sight, he worries that it’ll be the last time he sees them.

At one point, Rin had descended into the sewers through a broken street drain in order to listen in on a whispered conversation between a cluster of jōnin. While Kakashi had waited calmly, Obito found himself barely able to breathe. His worst fear at that moment was that he and Kakashi would hear a scream from the other side of the wall and rush forward to see that Rin had been taken.

None of that happened though, and Rin had returned to them ten minutes later, slightly soaked from an unexpected deluge of rainwater but bearing a useful piece of intelligence.

With that information, Team Minato makes its way to the largest tower in the village, the building that contains the Mizukage’s office. The three of them enter casually but cautiously, sneaking away to the administrative wing where all of the outgoing mission assignments are drafted.

Once inside, they hide until the chūnin workers leave for the day before emerging to cast a genjutsu on the patrolling guards. As illusions go, it’s a simple but effective one. Any guard passing by will believe that the rooms are empty even as three Konoha shinobi rifle briskly through the multitude of scrolls.

All the while, Obito ruminates over his plan of action in the event that the three of them are discovered.

He assumes that the Kiri nin kidnapped Rin because she was an easier target. If that is indeed the case, Obito has to assume that all three of them could be potential hosts for the Three Tails. It might just depend on the circumstances.

If it’s either Rin or Kakashi, there’s little that Obito can personally do. Adjusting a tailed beast’s seal requires a level of mastery that he could never hope to achieve. Obito’s only option would be to send for Minato-sensei and hope that he could make it time. It certainly wouldn’t be ideal, but it’s not a scenario that Obito is overly pessimistic about. The three of them have been in Kiri for quite a while now, so Sensei has likely returned from his mission already.

Now if Obito becomes the Three Tail’s host, he’ll just have Kakashi and Rin kill him before it’s too late. As much as he would hate to place the burden on them, they’re more than intelligent enough to figure out a way. And Obito would die peacefully, readily even, if it meant that his teammates could return to Konoha with their lives intact.

A number of conclusions become clear as they peruse through the most recent documents and missives. Kiri is severely lacking in manpower, to the point where genin and chūnin are the only shinobi they can spare at the borders. And as they’re incapable of launching a full-scale attack, Kiri has been assembling troops of jōnin across the islands in hopes of repelling any potential invaders. It’s a reasonable course of action all things considering, but nowhere do the files even mention the possibility of using a tailed beast as a weapon.

Obito doesn’t understand, and he’s found nothing of the sort three hours later. He almost protests when Kakashi deems it time to leave, but he shuts his mouth and buries the feeling.

They slip out of the wing, past the oblivious guards, and out of Kiri itself with no one the wiser, but Obito can still feel a sense of disquietude building up in his stomach.

It doesn’t make any sense.

This should have been _the_ mission.

But nothing had happened. There was no sign of the Three Tails, no sign of the Kiri nin who sealed the tailed beast into Rin, no sign of the Anbu who pursued them. But why?

_What had changed?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You did, Obito.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He’s no stranger to uncomfortable truths, but this one might just break him.

“Are you okay?” Rin asks, and Obito startles as her worried voice breaks through the fog that’s clouding his thoughts.

It’s only then, as he’s stifling a gasp, that Obito realizes how odd this must look from his teammates’ perspective.

Over an hour has passed since Team Minato left Kiri, and Obito has yet to utter a single word in their presence. He blinks slowly, feeling as though he’s just emerged from a long stupor. Obito isn’t sure what kind of expression he was wearing through it all, but he can’t imagine that his face had looked particularly reassuring.

“I…” Obito begins before aborting the attempt. “I’m still feeling a little nervous.” He forces the words out, hoping that he hadn’t taken too long to respond.

“This was a pretty important mission,” Rin points out, her tone understanding. “And it was pretty clear that you were on edge. Maybe you’ll start feeling better once we’re back home.”

Kakashi chimes in quietly from Obito’s left. “We’ll get to Konoha sooner if we up our pace,” he suggests matter-of-factly.

“That’s a good idea. What do you think?” Rin asks as she turns to Obito for his approval.

Obito nods, trying to ignore the pit in his stomach as the three of them start to quicken their steps.

Considering that they were traveling at an already brisk pace, their new speed borders on arduous. Nevertheless, Obito welcomes the additional strain. If nothing else, it helps distract him from the burning question in the back of his mind. But as the landscape whips past him, it becomes apparent that Obito can only delay the inevitable for so long.

Why _had_ nothing happened back there in Kiri?

His first and rather naïve thought is that the timing of the mission could've been off. Perhaps Team Minato was sent to Kiri slightly earlier than in the world he had left. Maybe the next team of Konoha shinobi will find themselves falling into the enemy village’s hands.

However, Obito can only entertain the idea for so long when he himself had poured through the village records and found no mention of the Three Tails anywhere in its scrolls. And unless Kiri is in the habit of concealing vital information from its own loyal shinobi, it appears that there were never any plans to level Konoha with a tailed beast.

Something had prompted Kiri to take such drastic measures in the previous timeline, something that clearly hadn’t happened here. The reason could be as simple as a Kiri higher up choosing differently this time, perhaps a fifty-fifty decision that went the other way before. Maybe the plan was a spur of the moment one that Kiri only carried out after they had captured Rin. But as much as Obito would like to attribute this all to random chance, a part of him knows that this has resulted from something far bigger.

It had to have been brought on by a far more significant change, but the implication is one that causes Obito’s stomach to give an unpleasant lurch. Because in this timeline, there has been only one major alteration that he's aware of. Instead of recuperating in that dark, sealed off cave, Obito had returned to Konoha after the mission to Kannabi Bridge.

Either way, that idea can only be utter nonsense. Obito couldn’t have had anything to do with Kiri’s wartime plans. Kiri had no knowledge of the nameless Konoha chūnin who was left half-dead in enemy territory. And had they known, it wouldn’t have made any difference to them.

However, rejecting that possibility means that Obito is forced to acknowledge a likelihood that he’d rather not consider. Because the only conclusion he can draw from there is that the plot to weaponize the Three Tails had not originated from Kiri itself.

And if it wasn’t Kiri, then who?

Obito can feel his heart start to race in a way that has nothing to with exertion.

There were only three others who were aware of Obito’s survival, three others who were there with him in the cave: Zetsu and Guruguru who monitored his recovery and… and…

Madara.

Madara, whose underground hideout included tunnels that spanned the shinobi nations. Madara, who despite his frailty, was still able to acquire critical information through his network of Zetsu clones. Madara, who had no compunctions when it came to meddling in other village’s affairs.

Obito clenches his fists as the first inklings of dread begin to seep throughout his chest.

Was it possible for Madara to have planted the idea for the scheme?

And yet, the question is one that Obito already knows the answer to. If he’s learned anything from his time prowling the continent as an international criminal, it’s that hidden villages are far too easily manipulated.

But why then?

The plan wasn't even a successful one seeing as Rin's seal was too unstable and broke far too soon. Nobody from Konoha had died, no one but Kakashi and Rin. And what would Madara gain from their deaths anyway?

_How could that possibly be to…_

The realization hits him like a ton of stones crashing down from above.

_… to his benefit?_

Obito’s insides seem to wither away in that single moment, and it feels as though he might suffocate from the horrific sensation.

The circumstances that led to his teammates' deaths were all too convenient, weren’t they?

Rin and Kakashi just happened to be running an assignment that coincided neatly with Kiri’s own plan of sealing a tailed beast into a Konoha shinobi. It can't have been an accident that their mission had gone south just as Obito was growing strong enough to leave the cave. Then there’s also the matter of Zetsu and Guruguru. The two of them had managed to guide Obito right to the scene, just in time to witness the entire situation go haywire.

And to top it off, there’s one key detail that’s managed to slip Obito’s mind throughout all these years, one that almost certainly validates this terrible theory of his.

Madara had known that he would come back.

A lifetime ago when Obito had rushed to Kakashi’s and Rin’s aid, he declared his intentions to leave the underground cave for good. And yet Madara had insisted that Obito would return.

He was so certain of it, despite the fact that he had no conceivable way of making him stay. Even though Madara was but a wizened husk and even though Guruguru and Zetsu were actively helping Obito reunite with his teammates, he was still convinced of the fact.

But that was how Madara had planned it.

He needed an Uchiha, Obito realizes. Madara needed someone who could command the Sharingan in order to carry out his plan for the Infinite Tsukuyomi. And he needed someone who was willing to burn the world down, so he manufactured a scenario that would bring Obito to that point. Madara must’ve given Kiri the idea and then tipped them off as Kakashi and Rin entered the country.

There's no way that Obito can know any of this for sure, but there really are no other feasible explanations. This is the same Madara who had almost certainly placed a control seal onto Obito’s heart. Obito's own wishes were irrelevant to him, Madara would've had him do his bidding one way or another.

That has to be it.

Obito watches the silhouettes of his unsuspecting teammates sprinting ahead of him and feels like he might be sick.

He wants nothing more than to run into the forests so that he can leave this all behind, so that the world will finally be safe from him. The only thing that’s truly stopping him from doing so is the knowledge that Kakashi and Rin would certainly follow him and bring him back. And not only does Obito doubt his ability to evade them, especially Kakashi, he also doesn’t wish to burden them with the ordeal.

The remainder of the return journey passes in a haze, the wilderness flying past him in one continuous blur. Obito is beyond grateful that he’s taken up the rear, that Rin and Kakashi can no longer make out the expression on his face.

He vaguely remembers arriving at the entrance of Konoha, saying goodbye to his teammates, and entering his home. Obito collapses the second that he closes the door of his room, curling up pathetically on the wooden floor.

This is all too much.

Obito had considered himself so clever for not trusting Madara. But as it turns out, he'd fallen into the madman’s very first trap. Obito acted the fool in that cave. He had been dangerously open, making it clear that there were people he wished to return to. He laid all of his motivations, hopes, and fears out on the table for him.

Then he made the mistake of growing far too comfortable around Guruguru and Zetsu, almost treating them as acquaintances of a sort. He should’ve known better. They were his jailors, not his allies. Obito might as well have handed Madara a full psychological profile with detailed instructions on how best to manipulate him.

Obito should’ve asked Kakashi to leave him with a kunai back during their mission to Kannabi Bridge. He was pinned beneath the stone, but he might’ve had just enough mobility left to finish himself off. He could’ve asked either of his teammates to do the deed, but it wouldn’t have been fair to do that to them without at least giving it a try.

It would’ve been better if he actually died back there.

 _You shouldn’t even have come to save me, Kakashi,_ Obito thinks bitterly.

All this was because of him.

Kakashi should’ve let that Iwa nin finish off Obito so that he could kill the enemy shinobi while he was still distracted. Then Kakashi could’ve rescued Rin, and he wouldn’t have needed to worry about dodging boulders or fighting off the last remaining enemy with only one eye.

_You didn’t need me. You never did._

“No one ever did,” Obito chokes out, and the words ring with a hollow echo.

At least no one that mattered, no one but Madara who needed Obito to be the linchpin in his scheme. But even after the control seal was no more, Obito was too blinded by his selfishness to see Madara’s plan for what it really was.

Still lying on his side, Obito brings his shaking hands to cover his face and wonders if it would be better for him to just tear his eyes out right here. He could destroy them while they're still inert, while they can't do any harm. Obito presses the tips of his fingers against his eyelids and holds them there for one long moment before letting his hands fall limply to the floor.

He can’t shirk his responsibilities like this, not when the mess is one that he’s created. Not when he’s played a far bigger part than he initially thought.

Obito slumps even further into the ground, and the exhale that escapes him sounds suspiciously close to a sob.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Obito was always suspicious of Madara but the pieces had never really come together before this.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans have to be reevaluated now that Obito’s earlier assumptions have been blown out of the water

Obito doesn’t even move from his position on the ground, too disheartened and too drained to do much else. He lies there on the cold, uncomfortable floor, and the sleep that eventually comes to him is a brief and fitful one that only sets in due to pure exhaustion.

Once the sun’s rays begin to permeate the darkness filling his room, Obito feigns illness and asks his grandmother to send word to his teammates and sensei. He knows that he’s merely delaying the inevitable, but Obito can’t bring himself to face any of them just yet, not when he’s confirmed to be the reason they all died before their time.

He spends the rest of the day in a pathetic haze, brushing off his grandmother’s attempts to check on him and picking at the meals she brings him. Obito manages to rise from the floor around mid-afternoon, but the dark cloud of misery hanging over his head has scarcely subsided.

There’s so much that Obito was mistaken about, and he fears that he may have already made an irreversible mistake in his ignorance.

Obito had undertaken this endeavor, this attempt to correct all of his past wrongs, with the assumption that he was the sole villain of his previous timeline. Madara and Zetsu were supposed to have taken supportive, although instigating, roles in the entire scheme. After all, Obito was the one who manipulated the Akatsuki, reduced the hidden villages to shambles, and ultimately imprisoned all of humanity in the Infinite Tsukuyomi.

But it turns out that Obito was simply the weapon dispensing out the destruction, little more than a pawn in the grand scheme of things. Despite Obito’s underlying wariness of the ancient clan head, Madara still proved to be far more dangerous than he could’ve assumed. He was hardly the type to passively wait for opportunities. No, Madara carefully evaluated the circumstances and had seen fit to make one for himself.

If only he could’ve just kept his mouth closed for once, Obito thinks bitterly, he might have been able to avoid all this. Although, he highly doubts that he could’ve gone free if that were to be the case. Madara would’ve certainly disposed of him once it became obvious that Obito was of no use to them.

And yet him dying in the underground lair would have brought about a far better outcome for everyone.

Obito nudges the barely touched plates of food to the side so that he won’t stumble over them before letting his body fall listlessly onto the bed. Now that he realizes that he was never really pulling the strings in his previous timeline, the prospects look grimmer than ever.

_They’re still out there._

They’re probably waiting right now, Obito realizes. Surely this hasn’t changed any of Madara’s or Zetsu’s plans. Since Obito never ended up underneath those rocks, Zetsu must still be prowling about the continent in search of a lone Uchiha to take back to Madara.

And Obito is nowhere near powerful enough to stop them in his current state.

Obito lucked out last time, never actually having to face Madara then. Once the control seal was inadvertently destroyed, he had merely disregarded Madara’s wishes regarding his own resurrection.

Zetsu was a different story. Zetsu had always felt… slippery, despite the fact that Obito was able to put an end to whatever trickery it had attempted to pull back when he had initially cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Even though it had ultimately offered little in the way of resistance, Obito still has an inkling that the creature possessed far more agency than it had ever let on.

And while Obito has no intention of becoming a puppet of the scheming duo this time around, that’s not to say that the same thing won’t happen to another Uchiha. The only thing that brings Obito the slightest bit of ease is the knowledge that his clan guards its eyes jealously and takes the utmost effort to ensure that no Sharingan fall into enemy hands.

That’s why it had taken ages, generations to be exact, for Zetsu to stumble across someone suitable. Because even during a time of war, the bodies of fallen Uchiha are diligently retrieved so that their eyes can all be accounted for. Obito, of course, proved to be the exception, but he supposes that the clan considered his corpse to be inaccessible due to the cave in.

From here on, Obito will need to keep an ear out for a mention of any Uchiha who have gone missing in the field or those whose bodies were unable to be recovered. This kind of information is not something that Obito would normally be privy to, but word travels quickly throughout the clan. Based on the whispers and rumors alone, Obito believes that he would know if Madara were to get his hands on someone else.

Yet Obito would rather not have the situation progress that far. This hypothetical Uchiha would be certain to have a Mangekyō Sharingan of their own, and there’s a possibility that they could unlock an ability even more powerful than Kamui.

Best to act before the circumstances worsen.

Of course, the quickest and most effective course of action would be to dispose of Madara and Zetsu now. But Obito no longer possesses his Mangekyō and so lacks the ability to deposit the two in some faraway dimension that they could never hope to escape from.

There is one possible option he could take, one that would almost certainly handle the issue, but Obito only intends to utilize it as a last resort. Doing so would likely put him out of commission, and there are still plenty of lesser, but still significant, threats out there.

He’ll give himself a little more time for now.

Obito sighs, staring at the ceiling once more, the anxiety circulating through his body as if it were poison. It feels as though his sanity, already precarious, is now hanging by the smallest of threads. However, the thought of a goal helps to keep the dread at bay.

Just barely.

Obito eventually decides that he can’t justify wallowing for longer than a day and thusly sets off for the training ground as usual come next morning.

Whenever Kakashi and Rin meet ahead of schedule, they tend to engage in productive activities like studying, warming up, or otherwise preparing for the day’s training session. This time, it appears that they’ve decided to take a break from all that to discuss more casual matters.

“Your hair is just so strange,” Obito overhears Rin declare as he draws nearer. “See look!” she exclaims as Kakashi pulls off his forehead protector, his spikey hair now falling around his face.

“It sticks up but only if the band is holding it in place,” Rin notes as she carefully grasps a piece of Kakashi’s hair between her thumb and forefinger.

Sure enough, the lock of silver hair obeys the rules of gravity and flutters down to join the rest once Rin lets go of it.

“I think it would stay down if it were longer” she continues, now lifting up sections of Kakashi’s messy hair in turn.

Meanwhile, Kakashi remains still as Rin fiddles absentmindedly with his hair, looking as stoic as ever but not showing any signs of protest.

“My father had long hair,” Kakashi mentions quietly and his voice sounds oddly flat and pensive at the same time.

Rin’s hands freeze at that, and Kakashi himself seems surprised by what he’s disclosed. There’s a moment of silence in which neither seems to know how to follow up his remark.

Fortunately, Rin recovers quickly and is able to inject some levity back into the conversation. “Well, I think long hair would look a little strange with your mask,” she points out, a tentative smile on her face.

“Yeah…” Kakashi replies, his expression still thoughtful but much less heavy now. “You’re probably right.”

Obito loses sight of the two as he steps around a cluster of trees, trying to move quietly so as to not disturb them.

“Do you think you would grow your hair out?” he hears Kakashi ask.

“I don’t know about that,” Rin answers, and Obito can see her frown slightly now that his vision is unobstructed again. “I’ve never really changed my hair. Maybe it’s varied by an inch or two in length throughout the years.

Rin lifts up a lock of her own hair and examines the ends closely.

“Medical nin need to be able to keep their hair out of the way, and long hair can be a liability in a fight,” she reasons. “I’m also not at that level where I can have long hair and stop opponents from taking advantage of it.”

She smooths the section of hair back into place. “Maybe one day though,” Rin adds, leaning back and glancing around the clearing.

“Hey, Obito!” Rin calls out to him in a cheerful tone once she notices his approach. “Have you ever thought about growing out your hair?”

Now, this is a question that Obito can answer with complete honesty.

“I would look like a delinquent,” he proclaims with absolute confidence in his words.

“You don’t know that!” Rin laughs as Kakashi reties the forehead protector around his head.

“Oh, I do,” Obito insists. He has no illusions as to what he had looked like in Madara’s hideout. The unruly hairstyle he wore back then was one that’s best suited to thugs, criminals, and anyone else who's up to no good.

“I find that it depends on the person,” Minato-sensei chimes in, having just arrived at the clearing from the opposite side. “After all, Kushina said I looked girly after I grew mine out by just a centimeter.”

Rin breaks out into laughter for the second time as she gets to her feet, pulling Kakashi up as well.

Sensei looks to Obito now and smiles warmly at him. “It’s good to have you back,” he remarks, and Obito _hates_ how earnest his teacher sounds.

Minato-sensei is genuinely happy to see that he’s doing better, and Obito doesn’t know what to do with this information. He’s no more than a sheep in wolf’s clothing, being treated with kindness even though he’s the one who unleashed death and destruction upon Konoha based on nothing more than the whims of a madman.

Somehow, Obito brings himself to smile back at his sensei. And it might just be his imagination, but this show of emotion almost seems less painful than usual.

He watches as Minato-sensei greets Kakashi and Rin, both attentive as he begins to outline the day’s agenda. None of the three know of the dangers they’ve averted nor of the ones that lie ahead. And yet they’re alive and unburdened by it, as content as could be for shinobi in the midst of a large scale conflict.

This feeling, Obito wants to preserve it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While he’s been dealt a tremendous blow, it also came with it the slightest bit of hope.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Obito finds himself in a bit of a predicament.

Throughout his prolonged existence, Obito had never actually known what it was like to reside in a peaceful Konoha. And yet, this is the bizarre reality that he currently finds himself in.

A ceasefire has been negotiated, and the Third Shinobi War is no more. The war is truly over, and all of Team Minato, against all odds, is still breathing.

The Konoha nin, the ones fortunate enough to survive with their lives and limbs intact, are finally able to return home. Even now, months after the conflict’s end, there’s still a steady stream of shinobi trickling through the village gates, exhausted but ultimately relieved to be back.

The end of the war also brought with it a new Hokage as well, a change that came as no surprise to the citizens of Konoha. It was obvious that Hiruzen Sarutobi was getting on in years, he was practically ancient by shinobi standards. But many believed that it was not his age but rather the village’s overall disapproval that had compelled the Sandaime to relinquish his position.

After all, the treaty that officially marked the end of the fighting was not without controversy. But whatever the reason, Konoha would be welcoming in a new leader one way or another.

And just like before, Minato-sensei was selected to become the Yondaime.

The pool of contenders hadn't been large, and most had outright declined the role. But Obito has heard that the Sandaime had not even considered Fugaku Uchiha as a potential successor, an oversight that continues to be a great source of resentment for the clan head. He normally would be concerned by the Uchiha clan’s animosity towards the present leaders of its home village, but Obito remembers how effectively Minato-sensei’s post-war reforms mended the fractured relationship between the two parties.

It had actually proved to be a hindrance in his previous world, the Uchiha clan’s newfound sense of loyalty towards Konoha. Back then, Obito and Zetsu had speculated on the possibility of recruiting another Uchiha to serve within the ranks of Akatsuki. It would’ve been advantageous to have one more Konoha shinobi on their side, another pair of Mangekyō Sharingan to carry out their bidding.

However, the anger of the Uchiha clan had been sufficiently quelled, making the likelihood of convincing one to turn traitor nearly nonexistent. And yet Obito cannot permit himself to rely solely on his sensei’s conciliatory gestures, not when he knows just how insidious Madara’s influence can be.

After returning from the mission to Kiri, after grasping the full extent of Madara’s machinations, Obito has spent many a night speculating on the schemes he could expect to see from the former clan head. Would Madara have grown restless now? The war is over, and he's yet to have secured a suitable pawn. Could this setback prompt him to take even more drastic measures than he had before?

But perhaps it had been too forward of Obito to ponder over such matters when he himself is currently choking for air, pinned like a helpless insect underneath the debris of a collapsing, burning shack. He hasn’t been crushed underneath the weight of the wreckage, but the copious amounts of smoke mean that the air refuses to enter and exit his lungs the way it normally does.

Things could certainly be worse though. The wooden beam covering Obito from his torso up limits the amount of burning particles that waft in through his mouth and nose. However, it also prevents him from prying himself free.

The mission was supposed to have been a simple one.

All of the shinobi nations had suffered for their part in the war, some more than others. Many of the settlements situated along the borders were unfortunate enough to bear the brunt of the fighting. Entire towns had been razed to the ground, the surrounding forests burnt to ash and the earth pitted and scarred from the ongoing violence.

Kusagakure, which had served as the main battleground for the many clashes between Konoha and Iwa, was especially devastated. Because of this, both nations had sent teams of shinobi to provide assistance to the citizens whose homes had been destroyed in the fighting.

Obito, Rin, and Kakashi were there to act as representatives on behalf of Konoha. It was intended to be a gesture of goodwill, the new Hokage sending his very own students to aid in the rebuilding efforts.

At least that’s how it was all supposed to go.

Obito should’ve realized that not everyone there was willing to put the past behind them. He had split off from the group in search of an outpost that supposedly contained a shipment of extra supplies. Finding the small building was an easy enough task, but Obito only noticed the exploding tags plastered to the walls only seconds before they had detonated.

Now, Obito’s in the unenviable position of hoping that he falls unconscious before the flames consume his body. That wish may be granted soon though, judging by the sluggish feeling that starting to settle over his entire body.

His lungs are stinging from the acrid air, but the crackle of burning wood sounds almost like a lullaby now.

Suddenly, an earsplitting crash echoes just to the right of him, startling him out of his stupor. Obito lets out an involuntary gasp and in the process inhales a mouthful of soot that leaves him choking and sputtering.

The flames _roar_ , and he feels the scalding heat closing in on him.

Then a pair of hands seizes him firmly by the upper arms, and Obito is wrenched away from the encroaching fire, away from the billowing clouds of black smoke.

“Obito!”

And he’s staring up at the night sky, the stars recognizable even as a flood of tears stream from his irritated eyes. Another pair of hands press against Obito’s torso, and he can feel the pain in his chest begin to lessen.

Obito spends the next ten minutes or so unable to fully process the events around him. He vaguely remembers vomiting on the grass and hearing the muted sounds of uneasy voices as he convulses. Obito wretches once more, feeling as though his lungs are attempting to expel themselves from his body. All the while, the concerned faces of his teammates fade in and out of focus.

Nevertheless, Kakashi and Rin seem to think that it would be inadvisable for them to linger. The two eventually pull Obito to his feet even as Rin mutters over and over that they really should be letting him rest. Once upright, they begin to move as one, Obito slumped over his teammate’s shoulders and pondering the reason for this sense of urgency.

The three have moved less than ten feet when Obito receives his answer, one that comes in the form of eight earthen spears that erupt from the ground in front of them.

Kakashi reacts instantly, using his tantō to slash through five of them while Rin yanks Obito out of the way of the remaining three. Obito, scanning the vicinity in his dazed state, can’t make out any sign of their attackers. Kakashi, however, seems to spot something by the cluster of trees just ahead of them and charges forward.

Obito tries to follow but almost topples over onto Rin after losing his balance. She steadies him without a second thought, but the look in her eyes suggests that she wants to go after Kakashi as well.

Judging by the noises up ahead though, it seems that their teammate has the situation handled. They hear blades clash, and an unfamiliar voice lets out a shout that quickly morphs into a splutter. He and Rin relax slightly, only for an exploding tag to flutter down and land directly in front of their feet.

Rin drags him away not a moment too soon, but the ensuing explosion still pelts them with a painful shower of dry earth. Nearly blinded by the cloud of dust, Obito barely notices the glint of sharpened steel from out of the corner of his eye. He tries to scramble backward, but a series of hacking coughs forces him to his knees.

Gasping for air, Obito braces himself for the impact, but it never comes. Instead, a loud clang echoes through the air, and Obito looks up to see Kakashi’s tantō lying a few feet to his left, his teammate having thrown his own sword to intercept the enemy kunoichi’s barrage of kunai.

Said enemy only spares Obito and Rin a contemptuous glance before deliberately turning her back to them, evidently deciding that Kakashi is the only opponent worth paying attention to.

She unsheathes a kusarigama and launches herself at Kakashi, swinging the weighted chain high above her head. She and Kakashi take to the treetops as if by some unspoken agreement and disappear into the forest.

The insult is clear as can be, but Obito can hardly bring himself to disagree with the enemy kunoichi’s assessment. He’s completely ineffectual right now, and Rin is saddled with his dead weight.

“You should go help him. Just leave me here,” Obito wheezes, but Rin shakes her head adamantly.

“We need to stay together,” she insists, grasping his hands in hers. “Can you stand?”

Rin helps him to his feet once again, and the two make their way further into the woods to where Kakashi and his opponent are trading blows.

Obito would normally be confident in his teammate's ability to win any given fight, but Kakashi is visibly tired in comparison to his relatively fresh opponent. And to make matters worse, his supply of weapons appears to be dwindling fast.

The enemy nin slashes ferociously through the surrounding tree trunks, presumably aiming to pin Kakashi down and limit his chances of retreat. Kakashi avoids the first few trees deftly but is clipped by the last one after having to dodge underneath the kusarigama’s chain.

The impact sends Kakashi flying, and he hits the ground hard.

Rin screams and reaches for her wire, but she and Obito are nowhere near in range.

_Get up, please get up,_ Obito pleads silently as Kakashi's opponent draws nearer.

Obito can only watch, filled with regret over his decision to discourage Kakashi from using the Chidori. A lethal, close range jutsu is exactly what he needed in this situation.

The kunoichi strikes.

But Kakashi throws out his hand before she makes contact, and a jet of lightning arcs from his palm, blinding and for some inexplicable reason, purple.

The kunoichi freezes in what seems to be shock as the bolt of electricity collides with her head-on. For a moment, the enemy nin is suspended in midair, illuminated by the violet light. Then she crumples to the ground at Kakashi’s feet.

Everyone is still, watching, waiting. Kakashi rises slowly, his eyes wary as he studies his fallen enemy.

She doesn’t move an inch.

Sure enough, Obito and Rin approach as well and arrive to find the kunoichi very much dead, a vertical slash seared straight through her torso.

“How did you do that?” Obito asks, staring at his teammate in astonishment, genuine wonder in his voice.

He’s tussled with lightning users from all across the continent in his past life, but Obito has never seen anything quite like _that._

“I just gathered as much lightning chakra in my hands as I could and let it go,” Kakashi replies, not sounding entirely sure himself.

“So you planned to do that,” Rin remarks, and Obito notes that her voice is curiously flat.

Kakashi, rather tellingly, elects not to answer.

Rin closes her eyes, exhaling as she does so. “Are you okay?” she asks, her eyes still shut.

“You should be asking Obito that.” Kakashi answers a little too quickly as he steps back ever so slightly. “He’s the one who almost suffocated this time.”

“How are you feeling, Obito?” Rin asks, now looking at him with concern. “We’re supposed to return to Konoha immediately now that this has all happened, but we can rest for the night if you need to.”

“As long as we don’t move too quickly, I’ll be good,” Obito assures her, although his voice is barely above a whisper. The insides of his lungs are probably caked in soot, but it’s so much easier to breathe now that everyone’s out of immediate danger.

Rin turns back to Kakashi, a meaningful look in her eyes. “And you’re sure that you’re fine?”

“Yes, of course,” Kakashi drones, rolling his eyes as he does so.

Rin merely stares at him in silence, her face expressionless.

“Well then, you should have no problem carrying me back to Konoha,” she chirps brightly, hopping onto Kakashi’s back without further ado.

Kakashi sighs but otherwise doesn’t say anything. Instead, he loops his arms around Rin’s knees to hoist her higher up on his back.

Obito is tempted to break out into a huge grin, but he knows that this kind of reaction would most likely confuse his teammates.

“Will we be able to move fast enough then?” Obito asks, placing all of his efforts into sounding casual and measured.

Rin smiles serenely. “I’m sure Kakashi will be able to handle it,” she answers sweetly.

Kakashi’s only response is an exasperated huff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In other words, Obito spends much of this chapter incapacitated and confused, but Rin and Kakashi have it handled for the most part. 
> 
> I can’t believe how long it’s been. You have no idea how much I’ve missed working on this.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and please feel free to let me know what you think! I love hearing your thoughts, feedback, reactions, and ideas. After all, a comment is what inspired this story!


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